Vaccination of Immunocompromised Travelers: Need for Specific Recommendations!

Abstract

International tourism is growing! According to the World Tourism Organization, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide is expected to increase by 3.3% a year on average from 2010 to 2030.1 In parallel, increasing numbers of individuals are living with secondary immunodeficiency resulting from a disease process or its therapy: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, hematopoietic malignancies, treatment with radiation, and treatment with immunosuppressive drugs for solid organ transplantation (SOT), malignancies, and inflammatory diseases, including treatments with biological immunomodulators and prolonged administration of systemic corticosteroids. Immunodeficiency caused by immunosuppressive drugs might include a combination of deficits in both cellular and humoral immunity, the degree of immunosuppression varying by drug and dosage. For patients with immunosuppression, infection remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The improvement of both expectancy and quality of life of immunocompromised patients increases their desire to travel. In the context of international travel, protecting the immunocompromised host against infections is of particular concern because of greater incidence and severity of infectious diseases. For vaccine‐preventable diseases, immunization may be of great value, but safety and immunogenicity are not well documented in this context.2 As severe complications following … Corresponding Author: Odile Launay, MD, Universite Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cite, Hopital Cochin, CIC de Vaccinologie Cochin Pasteur, Paris, France. E‐mail: odile.launay{at}cch.aphp.fr