Britons were the most reluctant in the world to take measures to stop the spread of the swine flu epidemic, researchers say today.
While other countries obsessively took measures to prevent the spread of disease, most Britons declined to take basic steps – such as covering their mouth when sneezing, the research shows.
In Mexico, where the 2009 pandemic originated, some 77% of people say they took increased steps to cover their mouth and use a tissue during coughing and sneezing. But in the UK 73% said they did not bother.
The findings, reported in The Lancet, come from a survey of nearly 5,000 people in five countries – the USA, UK, Japan, Argentina and Mexico.
Some 47% of Britons said the flu scare did not make them wash their hands or use sanitizer more frequently. A similar number said they would not have approved of measures adopted in some countries, such as requiring people to wear masks in public.
Just 21% of Britons underwent flu vaccination.
Researcher Professor Gillian SteelFisher of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA, said: "The wide variations between countries in our study shows that in the event of another serious outbreak of infectious disease, public perceptions have to be taken into account to best tailor and communicate policy approaches that need public support in each country."
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