Young children and the elderly were nominated as being the most vulnerable groups during a pandemic outbreak due to their 'sub-optimal immune systems'. Participants believed that children were less conscious about hygiene and were therefore more likely to be exposed to other infected children or contaminated objects in a school environment. On the other hand, teenagers and young adults (20s-30s), the 'physically and socially healthy' and the 'well educated' , were considered to be at lowest risk of contracting pandemic influenza.