MERS-CoV, influenza and other respiratory viruses among symptomatic pilgrims during 2014 Hajj season.
J Med Virol
; 91(6): 911-917, 2019 06.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30729547
ABSTRACT
More than two million Muslims visit Makkah, Saudi Arabia, annually to perform the religious rituals of Hajj where the risk of spreading respiratory infections is very common. The aim here was to screen symptomatic pilgrims for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and other viral etiologies. Thus, 132 nasopharyngeal samples were collected from pilgrims presenting with acute respiratory symptoms at the healthcare facilities in the holy sites during the 5 days of the 2014 Hajj season. Samples were tested using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions and microarray. Demographic data including age, sex, and country of origin were obtained for all participants. While we did not detect MERS-CoV in any of the samples, several other viruses were detected in 50.8% of the cases. Among the detected viruses, 64.2% of the cases were due to a single-virus infection and 35.8% were due to the coinfections with up to four viruses. The most common respiratory virus was influenza A, followed by non-MERS human coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, and influenza B. Together, we found that it was not MERS-CoV but other respiratory viruses that caused acute respiratory symptoms among pilgrims. The observed high prevalence of influenza viruses underscores the need for more effective surveillance during the Hajj and adoption of stringent vaccination requirements from all pilgrims.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Infecciones del Sistema Respiratorio
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Viaje
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Infecciones por Coronavirus
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Gripe Humana
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Islamismo
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Adult
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Aged
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Aged80
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Med Virol
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Arabia Saudita