Internationally adopted children: what vaccines should they receive?

It is of paramount importance to know the vaccination status in internationally adopted children, so that they can be correctly immunized. This study ascertains the seroprotection rate for vaccine-preventable diseases and the validity of the immunization cards in 637 adopted children. The absence of the immunization card (13% of children) correlated with a poor global vaccine protection. Children with immunization records (87%) had a better global seroprotection but the information obtained from the card did not accurately predict seroprotection for each particular antigen. The best variable to predict the status of seroprotection was the country of origin. The highest rate of protection was found in children from Eastern Europe and, in descending order, India, Latin America, China and Africa. General recommendations for immunization of internationally adopted children are difficult to establish. Actions for vaccination have to be mainly implemented on the basis of the existence of the immunization card and of the country of origin.