TITLE:
Effects of flu vaccine, solely or accompanied by pneumovax-23 vaccine on clinical consequences of the respiratory diseases among Iranian pilgrims in Hajj
AUTHORS:
Soheyla Dabiran, Seyed Mansour Razavi, Ahmad Sabouri Kashani, Mojgan Karbakhsh, Haleh Naser-Hodjati, Far Peyafarin
KEYWORDS:
Respiratory Disease; Flu Vaccine; Pneumovax-23; Clinical Outcomes; Hajj
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.6 No.1,
January
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: Background: Respiratory disorders are the most common diseases among Iranian pilgrims in Hajj. Some studies recommended flu and pneumococcal vaccines separately or in
combination to reduce respiratory diseases occurrence and its morbidity. These
effects are not clear in afflicted Hajj pilgrims. Objective: This is a cohort study that investigates the effects of
above-mentioned vaccines each or their combination on respiratory syndromes and
their consequences among Iranian pilgrims in Mecca. Method: The participants were 295 Iranian pilgrims from the beginning
to the end of the journey. They were systematically observed for getting
afflicted with a respiratory syndrome or not. In this study, we have assessed the
effects of flu and pneumococcal vaccines on respiratory disease occurrence and
on 8 clinical consequences including as: the duration of fever, duration of cough,
duration of bed rest, presence of post nasal discharge and dirty sputum, the total disease length, and the number
of referrals to the hospital, physician’s visits and complications. The data
for this study were gathered through a questionnaire with 14 basic questions
and 60 choices. This was processed using the SPSS software of 11.5 version, T-
and Chi-square tests. Results: The
results showed no significant correlations between the above-mentioned factors
and vaccination with one or both flu and pneumovax-23 except for the duration
of coughs which was significantly reduced in all cases (p Conclusion: The study
suggests the high-risk groups, should be vaccinated with combination of
flu and pneumovax-23 vaccines in Hajj.