Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 210 Issue 7 October 1, 2014
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

Invasive Pneumococcal Disease 3 Years After the Introduction of the 13-Valent Conjugate Vaccine in the Oxfordshire Region of England
Tina Q. Tan
Author Affiliations
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University,
Division of Infectious Diseases, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
(See the major article by Moore et al on pages 1001–11.)
Extract
Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading bacterial cause of meningitis, bacteremia, and pneumonia in the United States and worldwide. With the licensure of a heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) in February 2000 and recommendations for its use in all children aged 2–23 months in the United States, the rate of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) among US children <2 years of age rapidly decreased, by at least 60% [1], with concurrent decreasing rates of IPD being seen in adults, especially those ≥65 years of age [2]. This decrease was also demonstrated for pneumococcal meningitis, in which the incidences among persons <2 years of age and those ≥65 years of age decreased by 64% and 54%, respectively [3], with overall pneumococcal meningitis hospitalization rates decreasing by 33% [4]. Data from multiple studies have indicated that routine vaccination of young children with PCV7 has resulted in significant declines in the incidence of all IPD, not only in the age group targeted for vaccine receipt but also among older children and adults, demonstrating the beneficial indirect effects of vaccination [1, 2, 5, 6]. With the licensure of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in the United States in 2010, early surveillance reports are describing decreases in the incidence of IPD caused by serotypes contained in PCV13 [7, 8].
In this issue of the Journal, Moore et al present data from a population-based surveillance study performed in the Oxfordshire region of England, which demonstrated further reduction in …

Prevalence of MERS-CoV Nasal Carriage and Compliance With the Saudi Health Recommendations Among Pilgrims Attending the 2013 Hajj
Ziad A. Memish1,2, Abdullah Assiri1, Malak Almasri1, Rafat F. Alhakeem1, Abdulhafeez Turkestani3, Abdullah A. Al Rabeeah1, Jaffar A. Al-Tawfiq4,5, Abdullah Alzahrani1, Essam Azhar6, Hatem Q. Makhdoom7, Waleed H. Hajomar8, Ali M. Al-Shangiti9 and Saber Yezli1
Author Affiliations
1Global Centre for Mass Gatherings Medicine (GCMGM), Ministry of Health
2College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh
3Makkah Regional Health Affairs, Ministry of Health, Jeddah
4Saudi Aramco Medical Services Organization, Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
5Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis
6Special Infectious Diseases Unit, King Abdualziz University, King Fahad Medical Research Center, Jeddah
7Jeddah Regional Laboratory and Blood Bank, Ministry of Health
8Riyadh Regional Laboratory and Blood Bank, Ministry of Health
9General Directorate of Laboratory Services, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Background. Annually, Saudi Arabia is the host of the Hajj mass gathering. We aimed to determine the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) nasal carriage rate among pilgrims performing the 2013 Hajj and to describe the compliance with the Saudi Ministry of Health vaccine recommendations.
Method. Nasopharyngeal samples were collected from 5235 adult pilgrims from 22 countries and screened for MERS-CoV using reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. Information regarding the participants’ age, gender, country of origin, medical conditions, and vaccination history were obtained.
Results. The mean age of the screened population was 51.8 years (range, 18–93 years) with a male/female ratio of 1.17:1. MERS-CoV was not detected in any of the samples tested (3210 pre-Hajj and 2025 post-Hajj screening). According to the vaccination documents, all participants had received meningococcal vaccination and the majority of those from at-risk countries were vaccinated against yellow fever and polio. Only 22% of the pilgrims (17.5% of those ≥65 years and 36.3% of diabetics) had flu vaccination, and 4.4% had pneumococcal vaccination.
Conclusion. There was no evidence of MERS-CoV nasal carriage among Hajj pilgrims. While rates of compulsory vaccinations uptake were high, uptake of pneumococcal and flu seasonal vaccinations were low, including among the high-risk population