Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Mar 16;5(3):102-111.
doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v5.i3.102.

Surveillance of Australian Hajj pilgrims for carriage of potentially pathogenic bacteria: Data from two pilot studies

Mohammad Irfan Azeem  1 , Mohamed Tashani  1 , Al-Mamoon Badahdah  1 , Leon Heron  1 , Kristen Pedersen  1 , Neisha Jeoffreys  1 , Jen Kok  1 , Elizabeth Haworth  1 , Dominic E Dwyer  1 , Grant Hill-Cawthorne  1 , Harunor Rashid  1 , Robert Booy  1
Affiliations

Surveillance of Australian Hajj pilgrims for carriage of potentially pathogenic bacteria: Data from two pilot studies

Mohammad Irfan Azeem et al. World J Clin Cases. .

Abstract

Aim: To estimate the pharyngeal carriage rate of Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis), Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) among Australian Hajj pilgrims.

Methods: In 2014, surveillance was conducted in two phases among Australian Hajj pilgrims: The first phase during Hajj in Mina, and the second phase soon after returning home to Australia. Nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs were taken from participants then tested, firstly by nucleic acid testing, and also by standard culture.

Results: Of 183 participants recruited in the first phase, 26 (14.2%) tested positive for S. pneumoniae; 4 had received pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13). Only one tested positive for N. meningitidis (W). Of 93 2nd phase samples cultured, 17 (18.3%) grew S. aureus, all methicillin sensitive, 2 (2.2%) grew N. meningitidis (on subculture; one serotype B, one negative), and 1 (1%), from an unvaccinated pilgrim, grew S. pneumoniae.

Conclusion: Relatively high carriage of S. pneumoniae and little meningococcal carriage was found. This indicates the importance of a larger study for improved infection surveillance and possible vaccine evaluation.

Keywords: Carriage; Conjugate vaccine; Hajj; Neisseria meningitidis; Staphylococcus aureus; Streptococcus pneumoniae.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: Leon Heron and Robert Booy have received funding from Baxter, CSL, GSK, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, and Sanofi Pasteur for the conduct of sponsored research, travel to present at conferences or consultancy work; all funding received is directed to research accounts at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Dr. Harunor Rashid has received fees from Pfizer and Novartis for consulting or serving on an advisory board. The other authors have declared no conflict of interest in relation to this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic diagram showing recruitment of pilgrims.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Memish ZA, Stephens GM, Steffen R, Ahmed QA. Emergence of medicine for mass gatherings: lessons from the Hajj. Lancet Infect Dis. 2012;12:56–65. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al-Tawfiq JA, Zumla A, Memish ZA. Respiratory tract infections during the annual Hajj: potential risks and mitigation strategies. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2013;19:192–197. - PubMed
    1. Ahmed QA, Arabi YM, Memish ZA. Health risks at the Hajj. Lancet. 2006;367:1008–1015. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Booy R, El Bashir H, Rashid H, Shingadia D, Haworth E. Influenza and meningococcal disease: lessons for travellers and government from 2 epidemic diseases. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2009;7:253–256. - PubMed
    1. Nuorti JP, Butler JC, Crutcher JM, Guevara R, Welch D, Holder P, Elliott JA. An outbreak of multidrug-resistant pneumococcal pneumonia and bacteremia among unvaccinated nursing home residents. N Engl J Med. 1998;338:1861–1868. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources