Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Air travel increases risk for rapid transmission of communicable diseases including Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) particularly in mass gathering events such as umrah/hajj pilgrimages. Following MERS-CoV emergence, nations worldwide conduct enhanced surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (sARI) among returning hajj/umrah pilgrims. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted on notified cases of suspected MERS-CoV cases (>18-years), presenting within 14-days of returning from hajj/umrah, registered in the 2016 Perak MERS-CoV Surveillance Database. This study aimed to describe possible risk factors of sARI among the study population. RESULTS: A total of 85 suspected MERS- CoV cases were analysed. The median age was 61.0 years (IQR14.0), comprised of 43(50.6%) males and 42(49.4%) females. Forty six percent (20 cases) of the males were smokers. All cases were vaccinated for meningococcus, while 23 patients (27.1%) had influenza vaccination and 22 patients (25.9%) had pneumococcal vaccination. Seventy percent of the cases had awareness on MERS-CoV, while 12 cases had exposure history to camels (14.1%). No confirmed MERS-CoV cases were detected. The main diagnosis was Community Acquired Pneumonia (41 cases), Influenza (35 cases) and other respiratory infections (9 cases). Diabetes Mellitus was an important co-morbidity among the cases (p=0.03) and influenza vaccination was protective against influenza infections, OR:0.21 (95%CI: 0.06-0.69). DISCUSSION: This study recommended the need for mandatory influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations and optimal diabetic control for umrah/hajj pilgrims. This is in addition to regulation of travel agencies to reduce the risk of MERS-CoV exposure by avoiding recreational trips to camel farms during the pilgrimage.
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@proceedings{APCPH-2019-110,
title = {A Review of a Severe Acute Respiratory Illness Cases Among Umrah / Hajj Pilgrims in Perak, Malaysia 2016},
author = {Husna Maizura Ahmad Mahir and Masliza Mustafa and Hairul Izwan Andul Rahman and Nadrah Arfizah Ariffin and Alvin Tan Lik Hooi and Asiah Ayob and B Venugopalan},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-22},
urldate = {2019-07-22},
journal = {6th Asia-Pacific Conference on Public Health 2019 Proceedings},
issue = {6},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Air travel increases risk for rapid transmission of communicable diseases including Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) particularly in mass gathering events such as umrah/hajj pilgrimages. Following MERS-CoV emergence, nations worldwide conduct enhanced surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (sARI) among returning hajj/umrah pilgrims. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted on notified cases of suspected MERS-CoV cases (\>18-years), presenting within 14-days of returning from hajj/umrah, registered in the 2016 Perak MERS-CoV Surveillance Database. This study aimed to describe possible risk factors of sARI among the study population. RESULTS: A total of 85 suspected MERS- CoV cases were analysed. The median age was 61.0 years (IQR14.0), comprised of 43(50.6%) males and 42(49.4%) females. Forty six percent (20 cases) of the males were smokers. All cases were vaccinated for meningococcus, while 23 patients (27.1%) had influenza vaccination and 22 patients (25.9%) had pneumococcal vaccination. Seventy percent of the cases had awareness on MERS-CoV, while 12 cases had exposure history to camels (14.1%). No confirmed MERS-CoV cases were detected. The main diagnosis was Community Acquired Pneumonia (41 cases), Influenza (35 cases) and other respiratory infections (9 cases). Diabetes Mellitus was an important co-morbidity among the cases (p=0.03) and influenza vaccination was protective against influenza infections, OR:0.21 (95%CI: 0.06-0.69). DISCUSSION: This study recommended the need for mandatory influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations and optimal diabetic control for umrah/hajj pilgrims. This is in addition to regulation of travel agencies to reduce the risk of MERS-CoV exposure by avoiding recreational trips to camel farms during the pilgrimage.},
note = {Type: POSTER PRESENTATION; Organisation: Communicable Diseases Control Section, Public Health Division, Perak State Health Department, Malaysia, Communicable Diseases Control Unit, Kinta District Health Office, Perak, Malaysia, Communicable Diseases Control Unit, Batang Padang District Health Office, Perak, Malaysia, Surveillance Section, Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, Public Health Division, Selangor State Health Department, Malaysia},
keywords = {apcph2019, influenza vaccination, MERS COV, pneumococcal vaccination, respiratory illness, umrah/hajj pilgrimage},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}