TITLE:
Assessment of Prevalence Group A Streptococci (GAS) Associated with Upper Respiratory Tract Infection among Hajj and Umrah Pilgrims
AUTHORS:
Aiman M. Momenah
KEYWORDS:
Respiratory Tract Infection, Pilgrims, Streptococcus Pyogenes
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Tuberculosis Research,
Vol.11 No.2,
June
25,
2023
ABSTRACT: Background: Respiratory tract infection (RTI) is a prevalent infection
across the world and is a major health concern linked to the crowding that
occurs during the Hajj season. Objectives: To identify how prevalent Streptococcus
pyogenes is among Umrah visitors and pilgrims by comparing its presence before and after the visitors perform Umrah and
hajj. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on Umrah visitors/pilgrims, for which their throat swabs were taken for
assessing the upper respiratory tract infection’s carriage rate, particularly
of Group A streptococci (GAS), after they arrived in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj
and Umrah rituals and befor their leaving. After collecting the swabs, they
were inoculated on Columbia agar using 5% sheep blood and then incubated at 37˚C. VITEK 2 systems were used to identify the
isolates. Results: Of the 979/613 Umrah visitors/pilgrims involved, before
performing Umrah, their Streptococcus pyogenes percentage was 0.2% and
it increased to 0.7 after performing Umrah. Further, the Streptococcus
pyogenes percentage before and after performing Hajj was 0.3% and 1.1%,
respectively. No statistical significance was found in the difference between
the positive Streptococcus pyogenes found before and after performing
Hajj and Umrah among Umrah visitors/pilgrims (p-value = 0.2). All bacterial
isolates were found to be sensitive to Cefotaxime and Ceftriaxone antibiotics
(100%). Conclusion: The Streptococcus pyogeneshigh resistance to
antibiotics combined with the lack of a vaccine poses a serious risk concerning
the resulting infection spread and emphasizes the necessity of ensuring greater
global surveillance of such epidemics.