title: Surveillance of Australian Hajj pilgrims for carriage of potentially pathogenic bacteria: Data from two pilot studies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the pharyngeal carriage rate ofNeisseria meningitidis(N. meningitidis),Streptococcus pneumoniae(S. pneumoniae) andStaphylococcus 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 forS. pneumoniae; 4 had received pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13). Only one tested positive forN. meningitidis(W). Of 93 2ndphase samples cultured, 17 (18.3%) grewS. aureus, all methicillin sensitive, 2 (2.2%) grewN. meningitidis(on subculture; one serotype B, one negative), and 1 (1%), from an unvaccinated pilgrim, grewS. pneumoniae.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Relatively high carriage ofS. pneumoniaeand little meningococcal carriage was found. This indicates the importance of a larger study for improved infection surveillance and possible vaccine evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Mohammad Irfan
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Azeem
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tashani
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Al-Mamoon
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Badahdah
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Leon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Heron
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Neisha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jeoffreys
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Jen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kok
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haworth
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Dominic E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Dwyer
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Grant
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hill-Cawthorne
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Harunor
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rashid
authors.affiliation: Mohammad Irfan Azeem, Mohamed Tashani, Al-Mamoon Badahdah, Leon Heron, Harunor Rashid, Robert Booy, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Kids Research Institute, the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, Australia.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Booy
keywords: Carriage; Conjugate vaccine; Hajj; Neisseria meningitidis; Staphylococcus aureus; Streptococcus pneumoniae