Mahdi Hashim A, Qashqari Fadi S, Hariri Sumyya H, Bamerdah Shahad, Altayyar Shahad A, Almalki Hazim M, Alwadani Fayez A, Alabbasi Renan A, Alqahtani Mohammed H, Alfelali Mohammad, Shaban Ramon Z, Booy Robert, Rashid Harunor
Public Health Department, College of Health Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Jeddah 23442, Saudi Arabia.
The Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
Trop Med Infect Dis. 2022 Aug 13;7(8):182. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed7080182.
This study estimates the point prevalence of symptomatic respiratory tract infections (RTIs) among returned Hajj pilgrims and their contacts in 2021. Using the computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) technique, domestic pilgrims were invited to participate in this cross-sectional survey two weeks after their home return from Hajj. Of 600 pilgrims approached, 79.3% agreed to participate and completed the survey. Syndromic definitions were used to clinically diagnose possible influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and COVID-19. Median with range was applied to summarise the continuous data, and frequencies and proportions were used to present the categorical variables. Simple logistic regression was carried out to assess the correlations of potential factors with the prevalence of RTIs. The majority of pilgrims (88.7%) reported receiving at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine before Hajj. Eleven (2.3%) pilgrims reported respiratory symptoms with the estimated prevalence of possible ILI being 0.2%, and of possible COVID-19 being 0.4%. Among those who were symptomatic, five (45.5%) reported that one or more of their close contacts had developed similar RTI symptoms after the pilgrims' home return. The prevalence of RTIs among pilgrims who returned home after attending the Hajj 2021 was lower compared with those reported in the pre-pandemic studies; however, the risk of spread of infection among contacts following Hajj is still a concern.
本研究估算了2021年归国朝觐者及其接触者中有症状呼吸道感染（RTIs）的时点患病率。采用计算机辅助电话访谈（CATI）技术，邀请国内朝觐者在从朝觐返回家园两周后参与这项横断面调查。在600名被邀请的朝觐者中，79.3%同意参与并完成了调查。采用症状定义对可能的流感样疾病（ILI）和新冠肺炎进行临床诊断。采用中位数及范围来汇总连续数据，使用频率和比例来呈现分类变量。进行简单逻辑回归以评估潜在因素与RTIs患病率的相关性。大多数朝觐者（88.7%）报告在朝觐前至少接种了两剂新冠肺炎疫苗。11名（2.3%）朝觐者报告有呼吸道症状，估计可能的ILI患病率为0.2%，可能的新冠肺炎患病率为0.4%。在有症状的人中，5名（45.5%）报告称，在朝觐者返回家园后，其一名或多名密切接触者出现了类似的RTIs症状。与疫情前研究报告的情况相比，2021年参加朝觐后返回家园的朝觐者中RTIs的患病率较低；然而，朝觐后接触者之间的感染传播风险仍然令人担忧。
