Meningococcal disease also differs from yellow fever in another aspect. Although yellow fever is a disease only at destination countries, limited to Africa and the Americas, meningococcal disease is a worldwide problem. Immunization against meningococcal disease

will not only protect during travel, but also protect individuals in their home countries. For example, the overall annual incidence rate in the United States and in countries in the European Union is currently 0.3 to 8.9 per 100,000 population.4,5 Indeed, routine immunization against meningococcal disease is now a standard recommendation in the United States, most European countries, Australia, and New Zealand. The Advisory Committee on Immunization selleck Practices (ACIP) in the United States recommends quadrivalent meningococcal OTX015 conjugate vaccine for all persons aged 11

to 18 years regardless of travel destination. It also recommends vaccination against meningococcal disease for persons aged 2 to 55 years at increased risk for meningococcal disease.6 ACIP includes travelers to countries where meningococcal disease is hyperendemic or epidemic under the definition of persons at increased risk for meningococcal disease. Several meningococcal vaccines are now available for travelers and the choice depends on the country of residence, age, and destination.7 The risk of exposure to all clinically significant serogroups during travel demands a vaccine with broad coverage against all serogroups. Quadrivalent vaccines should therefore be offered to travelers rather than monovalent or bivalent vaccines.8 Polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines are now available for travelers in most countries. Conjugate vaccines are the

preferred choice over polysaccharide vaccines, in PLEK2 those countries where they are available, mainly because of their longer duration of protection, reduction of nasopharyngeal carriage, and increase in herd immunity.8 The advent of a new quadrivalent conjugate vaccine has expanded the scope of already available quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccines. On February 19, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed a quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine, MenACWY-CRM (Menveo, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Cambridge, MA, USA). MenACWY-CRM is licensed as a single dose for use among persons aged 11 to 55 years. The guidance for its use is consistent with licensed indications and ACIP recommendations for already existing meningococcal conjugate vaccines.9 It is therefore timely to publish a supplement dedicated to meningococcal disease and meningococcal vaccines in the context of travel medicine. The first article in this supplement provides an update on the global epidemiology of meningococcal disease, with an emphasis on aspects that are of particular importance to travelers.