title: Prevention of pneumococcal infections during mass gathering.
abstract: The interest in mass gathering and its implications has been increasing due to globalization and international travel. The potential occurrence of infectious disease outbreaks during mass gathering is most feared. In this context, respiratory tract infections are of great concern due to crowding in a limited space which facilitates and magnifies the potential of disease spread among attendees. Pneumococcal disease is best described among pilgrims to Makkah and vaccination is one of the methods for the prevention of this disease. Pneumonia was described in a mass gathering with a prevalence of 4.8/100,000 pilgrims and contributes to 15-39% of hospitalizations. Various studies showed that 7-37% of pilgrims are 65 y of age or older. The uptake of pneumococcal vaccine among pilgrims is low at 5%. There is no available data to make strong recommendations for S. pneumoniae vaccination of all pilgrims, it is important that a high risk population receive the indicated vaccination. We reviewed the available literature on the burden of pneumococcal infections during mass gathering and evaluate the available literature on pneumococcal vaccinations for attendees of mass gathering.
authors.affiliation: a Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare ; Dhahran , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.|b Indiana University School of Medicine ; Indianapolis , IN USA.
authors.forename: Jaffar A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Al-Tawfiq
authors.affiliation: c Ministry of Health and College of Medicine; Alfaisal University ; Riyadh , Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ziad A
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Memish
mesh_terms: D003441:Crowding; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology; D014195:Travel; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines
keywords: Mass gathering, Streptococcus pneumoniae, pneumococcus, Hajj, pilgrimage