Immunizations and infectious disease screening for internationally adopted children

Internationally adopted children are at increased risk of lacking some routine childhood immunizations and having certain infectious diseases compared with American-born children. US immigration law requires that internationally adopted children begin immunizations within 30 days of arrival in the United States, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends a comprehensive health assessment within the first 2 weeks of arrival. Several centers specializing in the care of internationally adopted children have gathered data that can be used to inform health care professionals about immunizing and screening such children for infectious diseases. This article discusses approaches to providing immunizations and evaluating internationally adopted children for symptomatic and asymptomatic infectious diseases.