Measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccination status in international paediatric travellers seen for pre-travel consultation in Minnesota, USA

BACKGROUND: Between 2000 and 2024, unvaccinated international travellers were the source of most measles cases and outbreaks in the U.S. In Minnesota, the Somali-American community is particularly high-risk for measles due to low measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccination uptake. We assessed MMR vaccine status in international paediatric travellers in Minnesota. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of MMR status among paediatric travellers age 6 months to < 18 years seen for pre-travel consultation from 1 October 2015 to 31 December 2024 at 3 community-based travel clinics within a large Minnesota health system. We stratified travellers into 3 age groups (6-<12 months, 12 months-<4 years, and 4-<18 years) based on MMR vaccination recommendations. We collected traveller age, sex, race/ethnicity, Medicaid coverage, preferred language, need for interpreter, reason for travel, travel destination, and departure date. We evaluated prevalence of paediatric travellers up-to-date with MMR for international travel prior to departure date by sociodemographic and travel related variables. RESULTS: Among 27 534 pre-travel consultations, 23 549 (85.5%) travellers were up-to-date for international travel with MMR vaccine by their anticipated departure date. Travellers to Somalia (N = 2656) and Kenya (N = 5175) had the lowest percentage of being up-to-date (75.6% and 78.6%) compared with other destinations. Travellers with Somali as their preferred language (N = 3087) had the lowest percentage of being up-to-date (74.3%) compared with other language groups. Travellers requesting a language interpreter (N = 3019), visiting friends and relatives (N = 17 877), and with Medicaid coverage (N = 11 415) had a lower percent of being up-to-date for MMR compared with other groups (78%, 83.1%, and 79.9%). CONCLUSIONS: MMR status among paediatric travellers varied by sociodemographic and travel characteristics. Travellers to Somalia and those with Somali as their preferred language had the lowest percent of MMR vaccines. Ongoing efforts are needed to improve MMR vaccine uptake especially among international paediatric travellers who may be at higher risk of infection based on travel characteristics.