Vaccinations in migrants and refugees: a challenge for European health systems. A systematic review of current scientific evidence.

Vaccinations in migrants and refugees: a challenge for European health systems. A systematic review of current scientific evidence. Pathog Glob Health. 2017 Feb 06;:1-10 Authors: Mipatrini D, Stefanelli P, Severoni S, Rezza G Abstract The decline of immunization rates in countries of origin of migrants and refugees, along with risky conditions during the journey to Europe, may threaten migrants' health. We performed a systematic review of the scientific literature in order to assess the frequency of vaccine preventable diseases, and vaccination coverage among migrants and refugees in Europe. To this end, Medline and Cochrane databases were considered. After the screening and the selection process, 58 papers were included in the review. We focused on the following vaccine-preventable diseases: hepatitis B, measles, rubella, mumps, tetanus, poliomyelitis, pertussis, diphtheria, meningitis, and varicella. The results were presented as a qualitative synthesis. In summary, several studies highlighted that migrants and refugees have lower immunization rates compared to European-born individuals. Firstly, this is due to low vaccination coverage in the country of origin. Then, several problems may limit migrants' access to vaccination in Europe: (i) migrants are used to move around the continent, and many vaccines require multiple doses at regular times; (ii) information on the immunization status of migrants is often lacking; (iii) hosting ...
Source: Pathogens and Global Health - Category: Global & Universal Tags: Pathog Glob Health Source Type: research