Journal of Microbial & Biochemical Technology

Potential risk of Streptococcus pneumoniae in nasopharyngeal carriage during Umrah and Hajj seasons in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

3^rd World Congress and Expo on Applied Microbiology

November 07-09, 2016 Dubai, UAE

Ibrahim S Alayed, Ayman K Johargy, Hamdi M El-Said, Aiman M Momenah, Sami S Ashgar, Hani S Faidah, Atif Asghar, Ameen Alherabi and Ashraf E Sorour, Baraa T Melibari, Rayan A Monshi and Omar M Alsaati

Umm Al-Qura University, KSA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Microb Biochem Technol

Abstract:

Background: Hajj and Umrah poses many health challenges and lead to a higher risk of acquiring and disseminating infectious diseases, as a result of mass gatherings and shared accommodation and air pollution. Nasal colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major contributing factor for pneumococcal disease that still is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Aim: The aim of this study was to detect and evaluate S. pneumoniae in the nasopharyngeal carriage and the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of S. pneumoniae isolates in different ethnic groups, during Umrah and Hajj seasons. Methods: A total of 3184 nasal swab were collected from 979/613 Umrah visitors/pilgrims, swab from each one upon arrival and swab before leaving Saudi Arabia, during the period from March to November 2009. Samples were cultured for the presence of S. pneumonia by standard laboratory procedures in the Microbiology Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University. Results: The carriage rate of S. pneumoniae was 0% before performing Umrah and 6.41% after performing Umrah and 80% from isolates after Umrah were sensitive to Cefotaxime, Ceftriaxone, Rifampicin and Meropenem antibiotics. The carriage rate of S. pneumoniae was 0.7% before performing Hajj and 1% after performing Hajj and 75% from isolates before Hajj and 66.7% after Hajj were sensitive to the previous antibiotics. Conclusion & Recommendations: This study revealed that ethnic groups carries S. pneumoniae were more after performing Hajj and Umrah than before Hajj and Umrah. Thus, we recommend to repeat this study after few years to evaluate the carriage rate of S. pneumoniae in Umrah visitors and pilgrims and adding controls from Saudi nationals to any upcoming study in order to compare the carriage rate of S. pneumoniae in Umrah visitors, pilgrims and Saudi nationals for designing control strategies for these infectious diseases during Umrah and Hajj seasons.

Biography :

Ibrahim Alayed has completed his bachelors of medicine and surgery in 2016 from Umm Al-Qura University, he has participated in research activities under the supervision Dr. Hamdi M. El-Said and the Medical Microbiology department at Umm Al-Qura University. His main interests are Molecular Biology, Research and Statistics. Outside the medical field, Ibrahim is friendly, outgoing and likes to participate in different volunteer work for community services.

Email: ibrahim.alayed@hotmail.com