High incidence of pertussis among Hajj pilgrims.
Prolonged cough occurs in a large proportion of the 2 million pilgrims who participate in the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia. In a prospective seroepidemiological study to determine the incidence of pertussis among 358 adult pilgrims, 5 (1.4%) were found to have acquired pertussis (defined as prolonged cough and a >4-fold increase in the level of immunoglobulin G to whole-cell pertussis antigen). Of the 40 pilgrims who had no pre-Hajj immunity to pertussis, 3 (7.5%) acquired pertussis. Administration of acellular pertussis vaccine to pilgrims before the Hajj should be considered to address this problem.
Wilder-Smith
Annelies
A
Travellers' Health and Vaccination Centre, Department of Infectious Diseases, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. epvws@pacific.net.sg
Earnest
Arul
A
Ravindran
Sindhu
S
Paton
Nicholas I
NI
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001885:Bordetella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D001886:Bordetella pertussis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007514:Islam; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology