Details:

Alternative Title:
Travel Med Infect Dis
Personal Author:
Koul, Parvaiz A. ; Mir, Hyder ; Saha, Siddhartha ; Chadha, Mandeep S. ; Potdar, Varsha ; ... More +
Koul, Parvaiz A. ; Mir, Hyder ; Saha, Siddhartha ; Chadha, Mandeep S. ; Potdar, Varsha ; Widdowson, Marc-Alain ; Lal, Renu B. ; Krishnan, Anand Less -
Description:
Background

The increasing reports of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) caused by MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) from many countries emphasize its importance for international travel. Muslim pilgrimages of Hajj and Umrah involve mass gatherings of international travellers. We set out to assess the presence of influenza and MERS-CoV in Hajj/Umrah returnees with acute respiratory infection.

Methods

Disembarking passengers (n = 8753) from Saudi Arabia (October 2014 to April 2015) were interviewed for the presence of respiratory symptoms; 977 (11%) reported symptoms and 300 (age 26 –90, median 60 years; 140 male) consented to participate in the study. After recording clinical and demographic data, twin swabs (nasopharyngeal and throat) were collected from each participant, pooled in viral transport media and tested by real-time RT PCR for MERS-CoV and influenza A and B viruses and their subtypes.

Results

The participants had symptoms of 1–15 days (median 5d); cough (90%) and nasal discharge (86%) being the commonest. None of the 300 participants tested positive for MERS-CoV; however, 33 (11%) tested positive for influenza viruses (A/H3N2 = 13, A/H1N1pdm09 = 9 and B/Yamagata = 11). Eighteen patients received oseltamivir. No hospitalizations were needed and all had uneventful recovery.

Conclusion

Despite a high prevalence of acute respiratory symptoms, MERS coV was not seen in returning pilgrims from Hajj and Umrah. However detection of flu emphasises preventive strategies like vaccination.


Subject:
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Acute Disease Adult Aged Aged, 80 And Over Article Coronavirus Infections Female Humans Influenza, Human Influenza A Virus Influenza B Virus Islam Male Middle Aged Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Nasopharynx Pharynx Polymerase Chain Reaction Prevalence Respiratory Tract Infections Travel
Source:
Travel Med Infect Dis. 15:45-47
Pubmed ID:
27932291
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC6057869
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States ; U01 IP000206/IP/NCIRD CDC HHS/United States
CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States ; U01 IP000206/IP/NCIRD CDC HHS/United States Less -
Place as Subject:
India ; Saudi Arabia
India ; Saudi Arabia Less -
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:f7e34ec83cbf8733a50d7742b055d03f980ad8b9c058ed8b4db87d9e9db84229
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/57629/cdc_57629_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

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