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

Undiagnosed Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis among Pilgrims during the 2015 Hajj Mass Gathering: A Prospective Cross-sectional Study. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2017 Sep 05;: Authors: Yezli S, Zumla A, Yassin Y, Al-Shangiti AM, Mohamed G, Turkistani AM, Alotaibi B Abstract Mass gatherings pose a risk for tuberculosis (TB) transmission and reactivation of latent TB infection. The annual Hajj pilgrimage attracts 2 million pilgrims 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%) h...
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research