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Mass Gatherings and the Spread of Respiratory Infections. Lessons from the Hajj.
Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2016 06; 13(6):759-65.AA

Abstract

The mass gathering of people is a potential source for developing, propagating, and disseminating infectious diseases on a global scale. Of the illnesses associated with mass gatherings, respiratory tract infections are the most common, the most easily transmitted, and the most likely to be spread widely beyond the site of the meeting by attendees returning home. Many factors contribute to the spread of these infections during mass gatherings, including crowding, the health of the attendees, and the type and location of meetings. The annual Hajj in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest recurring single mass gathering in the world. Every year more than 10 million pilgrims attend the annual Hajj and Umrah. Attendees assemble in confined areas for several days. People with a wide range of age, health, susceptibility to illness, and hygiene sophistication come in close contact, creating an enormous public health challenge. Controlling respiratory infections at the Hajj requires surveillance, rapid diagnostic testing, and containment strategies. Although the Hajj is without equal, other mass gatherings can generate similar hazards. The geographic colocalization of the Zika virus epidemic and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil is a current example of great concern. The potential of international mass gatherings for local and global calamity calls for greater global attention and research.

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Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Al-Tawfiq JA
1 Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. 2 Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Gautret P
3 Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Marseille, France. 4 Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection, 13005 Marseille, France.
Benkouiten S
3 Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Marseille, France. 4 Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection, 13005 Marseille, France.
Memish ZA
5 College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and. 6 Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

MeSH

CrowdingDisease OutbreaksHumansIslamPublic HealthRespiratory Tract InfectionsSaudi ArabiaTravelVaccination

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

27088298

Citation

Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A., et al. "Mass Gatherings and the Spread of Respiratory Infections. Lessons From the Hajj." Annals of the American Thoracic Society, vol. 13, no. 6, 2016, pp. 759-65.
Al-Tawfiq JA, Gautret P, Benkouiten S, et al. Mass Gatherings and the Spread of Respiratory Infections. Lessons from the Hajj. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2016;13(6):759-65.
Al-Tawfiq, J. A., Gautret, P., Benkouiten, S., & Memish, Z. A. (2016). Mass Gatherings and the Spread of Respiratory Infections. Lessons from the Hajj. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 13(6), 759-65. https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201511-772FR
Al-Tawfiq JA, et al. Mass Gatherings and the Spread of Respiratory Infections. Lessons From the Hajj. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2016;13(6):759-65. PubMed PMID: 27088298.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Mass Gatherings and the Spread of Respiratory Infections. Lessons from the Hajj. AU - Al-Tawfiq,Jaffar A, AU - Gautret,Philippe, AU - Benkouiten,Samir, AU - Memish,Ziad A, PY - 2016/4/19/entrez PY - 2016/4/19/pubmed PY - 2018/1/5/medline KW - Hajj KW - mass gathering KW - pilgrimage KW - respiratory infections SP - 759 EP - 65 JF - Annals of the American Thoracic Society JO - Ann Am Thorac Soc VL - 13 IS - 6 N2 - The mass gathering of people is a potential source for developing, propagating, and disseminating infectious diseases on a global scale. Of the illnesses associated with mass gatherings, respiratory tract infections are the most common, the most easily transmitted, and the most likely to be spread widely beyond the site of the meeting by attendees returning home. Many factors contribute to the spread of these infections during mass gatherings, including crowding, the health of the attendees, and the type and location of meetings. The annual Hajj in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest recurring single mass gathering in the world. Every year more than 10 million pilgrims attend the annual Hajj and Umrah. Attendees assemble in confined areas for several days. People with a wide range of age, health, susceptibility to illness, and hygiene sophistication come in close contact, creating an enormous public health challenge. Controlling respiratory infections at the Hajj requires surveillance, rapid diagnostic testing, and containment strategies. Although the Hajj is without equal, other mass gatherings can generate similar hazards. The geographic colocalization of the Zika virus epidemic and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil is a current example of great concern. The potential of international mass gatherings for local and global calamity calls for greater global attention and research. SN - 2325-6621 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/27088298/Mass_Gatherings_and_the_Spread_of_Respiratory_Infections__Lessons_from_the_Hajj_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -