Absence of Neisseria meningitidis W-135 Electrophoretic Type 37 during the Hajj, 2002

Abstract

We document the absence of carriage of Neisseria meningitidis W-135 of the sequence type 11 in returning pilgrims after the Hajj 2002. This finding contrasts with the 15% carriage rate we previously reported in pilgrims returning from the Hajj 2001. The epidemiology of carriage may be changing or may have been controlled by vaccination and a policy of administering antibiotics to pilgrims from countries with a high incidence of meningococcal disease.

Keywords

• dispatch
• ET 37
• Hajj pilgrimage
• meningococcal disease
• N. meningitidis
• N. meningitidis W-15