Occurrence of acute respiratory infection, diarrhea and jaundice among Afghan pilgrims, 2010.
BACKGROUND
Annually 30,000 Afghans attend the Hajj in Saudi Arabia that is one of the largest mass gathering events in the world. We aimed to determine the prevalence of three syndromes of interest diarrhea, acute respiratory infections (ARI) and jaundice-among Hajjis gathering at the four transit sites in Afghanistan before, during, and after their voyage.


METHODS
A total of 1659 Hajjis at four transit sites were selected and included a cross-sectional study. Information was collected prior Hajjis departure and upon their return from Saudi Arabia regarding demographics and experience of diarrhea, ARI and jaundice. Standardized case definitions were used for the three health outcomes of interest.


RESULTS
The occurrence of diarrhea and jaundice remained constant over time. However, ARI increased from 1.4% at pre-transit to 4% at transit area and 37% during the Hajj. ARI rates among residents from the Central and Northern regions of Afghanistan were significantly higher at the post-Hajj stage, at 50% and 69%, respectively. There was no difference in ARI by sex among Hajjis.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a need to review the quality and effectiveness of the flu vaccine. Authorities should come up with the sound strategies to overcome ARI problems during Hajj.
['Saeed|Khwaja Mir Islam|KM|', 'Mofleh|Jawad|J|', 'Rasooly|M Hafiz|MH|', 'Aman|M Iabal|MI|']
D000208:Acute Disease D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000346:Afghanistan D017677:Age Distribution D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D002648:Child D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D003441:Crowding D003967:Diarrhea D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007514:Islam D007565:Jaundice D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D015995:Prevalence D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections D012529:Saudi Arabia D017678:Sex Distribution D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D014195:Travel D055815:Young Adult
Diarrhea Hajj Mass Gathering ARI Afghanistan