Have Vaccines, Will Travel

Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia

New Vaccine Recommendations for Travelers

Americans like to travel. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that US residents made nearly 60 million trips outside the United States in 2010 alone.^[1]

We all tend to take living in a developed country for granted. I continue to be amazed that patients don't realize they should call their healthcare provider when planning international travel. Patients may not realize the health risks involved and the need for taking appropriate precautions, including immunizations, as well as the need for country-specific appropriate prophylactic medications (against malaria, for example) and "just in case" medications for traveler's diarrhea. Unfortunately, travel agents are not always up front about the possible risks, either because they lack this information or they are concerned that relaying this information could discourage travel.

A quick look at CDC's online traveler's health resource ( The Yellow Book ) gives country-specific, up-to-date information about immunizations needed and special concerns, including travel notices about which your patients should be aware. It is a valuable resource for Americans on the move. Here's a heads-up about some often-recommended travel immunizations.^[1]

All new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations are now evidence-based, using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) protocol. ACIP recommendations do not become official until they are published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report(MMWR) and are not always consistent with US Food and Drug Administration licensing parameters.^[2]

Medscape Internal Medicine © 2015  WebMD, LLC

Cite this: Sandra Adamson Fryhofer. Have Vaccines, Will Travel - Medscape - Mar 17, 2015.