[Which vaccination schedule, which vaccines? The constraints of time and age]

Several factors must be taken into account in planning vaccination schedules for overseas travelers. The first factor is to determine requirements mandated by applicable laws in the destination country and in France governing professional travel such as by military personnel. The other factors involve risk assessment including local health and epidemiological conditions, living conditions during the stay, and personal profile of the traveler (e.g. age and previous vaccination). Tropical areas are not the only destinations where infectious risks requiring vaccinations are found. Vaccination against diseases such as diphtheria and tick-borne encephalitis is necessary for several countries in Europe. Pre-travel planning provides a timely opportunity for updating basic vaccination requirements (e.g. tetanus and polio). For the growing number of elderly travelers, accurate evaluation of immune status may be difficult either because these subjects may never been vaccinated but only exposed to the wild germ during childhood or because their vaccinations may have been performed long ago. In both cases one cannot be sure of the quality of the anamnestic response to booster injections. A frequent limitation on vaccination planning for travelers is time available before departure.