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. Method: Throat swabs were taken from 177 participants 1 week after returning from the Hajj. The participants were asked about: associated medical conditions, m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical principles and practice 2010-01, Vol.19 (4), p.321-323
Main Authors: Husain, Entesar H., Dashti, Ali A., Electricwala, Qudsiya Y., AbdulSamad, AbdulSamad M., Al-Sayegh, Safeya
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Anti-Infective Agents - therapeutic use
Antibiotic Prophylaxis
Carrier State
Ciprofloxacin - therapeutic use
Disease Outbreaks
Female
Humans
Islam
Kuwait - epidemiology
Male
Meningococcal Infections - diagnosis
Meningococcal Infections - drug therapy
Meningococcal Infections - epidemiology
Meningococcal Infections - microbiology
Meningococcal Vaccines
Neisseria meningitidis - isolation & purification
Pharynx - microbiology
Population Surveillance
Prospective Studies
Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
Saudi Arabia - epidemiology
Sensitivity and Specificity
Serotyping
Short Communication
Surveys and Questionnaires
Travel
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective: To investigate whether or not Neisseria meningitidis was present in the throat of Kuwaiti pilgrims after returning from the Hajj. Method: 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. Conclusion: The result showed that vaccination before leaving Kuwait and ciprofloxacin prophylaxis were effective in preventing throat colonization with Neisseria meningitidis.
ISSN:1011-7571
1423-0151
DOI:10.1159/000312721