Meningococcal Vaccine Should Be Given
For a girl with up-to-date routine vaccinations traveling to a foreign country, meningococcal vaccination is the appropriate additional vaccine to administer, particularly if traveling to regions where meningococcal disease is hyperendemic or epidemic. 1
Rationale for Meningococcal Vaccination in Travelers
International travelers visiting parts of sub-Saharan Africa (the "meningitis belt") during the dry season (December–June) require meningococcal vaccination to prevent potentially fatal invasive meningococcal disease 1
Vaccination is also required by the government of Saudi Arabia for all travelers to Mecca during the annual Hajj, and must have been administered within the 3 years before travel 1
Advisories for travelers to other countries are issued by CDC when epidemics of meningococcal disease caused by vaccine-preventable serogroups are detected 1
Age-Appropriate Vaccination Schedule
For children aged ≥9 months traveling to endemic areas: MenACWY-D requires 2 doses administered ≥12 weeks apart (may be given as early as ≥8 weeks apart for travelers) 1
For children aged ≥2 years: A single dose of MenACWY-D, MenACWY-CRM, or MenACWY-TT is recommended before travel 1
If the child previously received Hib-MenCY-TT, she is not protected against serogroups A and W and should receive quadrivalent meningococcal vaccination before travel 1
Why Not the Other Options
Malaria is not a vaccine - it is a disease prevented through chemoprophylaxis (antimalarial medications) and mosquito avoidance measures, not vaccination 1
Routine vaccinations alone are insufficient for international travel to endemic areas, as they do not include protection against region-specific diseases like meningococcal disease in the meningitis belt 1
Additional Travel Considerations
Other travel-specific vaccines may be indicated depending on the destination country, including yellow fever, typhoid, hepatitis A, Japanese encephalitis, or rabies 1
Vaccination requirements and recommendations vary by country and can be found through CDC travel health information at 1-877-394-8747 or https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel 1
An International Certificate of Vaccination must be validated by an appropriate authority for entry into countries requiring yellow fever or meningococcal vaccination 1