Absence of Neisseria meningitidis from throat swabs of Kuwaiti pilgrims after returning from the Hajj.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether or not Neisseria meningitidis was present in the throat of Kuwaiti pilgrims after returning from the Hajj.


METHODS
Throat swabs were taken from 177 participants 1 week after returning from the Hajj. The participants were asked about: associated medical conditions, meningococcal vaccination status and the intake of ciprofloxacin before leaving Mecca for Kuwait.


RESULTS
There was no throat colonization with N. meningitidis on any of the throat swabs. Of the 177 pilgrims, 163 (92%) were vaccinated with meningococcal quadrivalent vaccine before leaving to Saudi Arabia. Ninety-seven of the pilgrims (83%) had received one dose of ciprofloxacin before leaving Mecca.


CONCLUSIONS
The result showed that vaccination before leaving Kuwait and ciprofloxacin prophylaxis were effective in preventing throat colonization with Neisseria meningitidis.
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Safat 13110, Kuwait. entesar@qualitynet.net
Entesar H
EH
Husain
Ali A
AA
Dashti
Qudsiya Y
QY
Electricwala
Abdulsamad M
AM
Abdulsamad
Safeya
S
Al-Sayegh
D000328:Adult; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis; D002353:Carrier State; D002939:Ciprofloxacin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D007730:Kuwait / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012703:Serotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014195:Travel
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D002939:Ciprofloxacin