LSTM Home > LSTM Research > LSTM Online Archive

Undiagnosed Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis among Pilgrims during the 2015 Hajj Mass Gathering: A Prospective Cross-sectional Study

Yezli, Saber, Zumla, Alimuddin, Alotaibi, Badriah, Turkistani, Abdulhafiz M., Yassin, Yara, Mohamed, Gamal and Al-Shangiti, Ali M. (2017) 'Undiagnosed Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis among Pilgrims during the 2015 Hajj Mass Gathering: A Prospective Cross-sectional Study'. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Vol 97, Issue 5, pp. 1304-1309.

[img]
Preview
Text
Am_J_Trop_Med_Hyg_97_5_1304-1309_2017.pdf - Published Version

Download (86kB) | Preview

Abstract

Mass gatherings pose a risk for tuberculosis (TB) transmission and reactivation of latent TB infection. The annual Hajj pilgrimage attracts 2 million pilgrims many from high TB-endemic countries. We evaluated the burden of undiagnosed active pulmonary TB in pilgrims attending the 2015 Hajj mass gathering. We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study in Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for nonhospitalized adult pilgrims from five high TB-endemic countries. Enrollment criteria were the presence of a cough and the ability to produce a sputum sample. Sputum samples were processed using the Xpert MTB-RIF assay. Data were analyzed for drug-resistant TB, risk factors, and comorbidities by the country of origin. Of 1,164 consenting pilgrims enrolled from five countries: Afghanistan (316), Bangladesh (222), Nigeria (176), Pakistan (302), and South Africa (148), laboratory results were available for 1,063 (91.3%). The mean age of pilgrims was 54.5 (range = 18–94 years) with a male to female ratio of 2.6:1; 27.7% had an underlying comorbidity, with hypertension and diabetes being the most common, 20% were smokers, and 2.8% gave a history of previous TB treatment. Fifteen pilgrims (1.4%) had active previously undiagnosed drug-sensitive pulmonary TB (Afghanistan [12; 80%], Pakistan [2; 13.3%], and Nigeria [1; 6.7%]). No multidrug-resistant TB cases were detected. Pilgrims from high TB-endemic Asian and African countries with undiagnosed active pulmonary TB pose a risk to other pilgrims from over 180 countries. Further studies are required to define the scale of the TB problem during the Hajj mass gathering and the development of proactive screening, treatment and prevention guidelines.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: WF Respiratory System > Tuberculosis > WF 205 Epidemiology
WF Respiratory System > Tuberculosis > WF 220 Diagnosis. Prognosis
WF Respiratory System > Tuberculosis > WF 300 Pulmonary tuberculosis
Faculty: Department: Education
Digital Object Identifer (DOI): https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.17-0271
SWORD Depositor: JISC Pubrouter
Depositing User: Lynn Roberts-Maloney
Date Deposited: 24 Nov 2017 09:15
Last Modified: 30 Nov 2018 02:02
URI: https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/7586

Statistics

View details

Actions (login required)

Edit Item Edit Item