Volume 17, Number 7—July 2011
Dispatch
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 and Hajj Pilgrims Who Received Predeparture Vaccination, Egypt
, Eman Abdel Kereem, Samir El-Refay, Salma Afifi, Mohammed Abukela, Kenneth Earhart, Nasr El-Sayed, and Hatem El-GabalyTable
Demographic characteristics, vaccination history, and influenza A infection prevalence among 551 pilgrims returning from the Hajj, Egypt, 2009
| Characteristic | No. pilgrims (weighted %) |
|---|---|
| Age group, y | |
| <30 | 11 (2.2) |
| 30–39 | 66 (12.4) |
| 40–49 | 141 (23.9) |
| 50–59 | 219 (40.2) |
| 60–69 | 114 (21.2) |
| >70 | 0 |
| <12* | 1 (0.3) |
| >65* |
1 (0.1) |
| Gender | |
| M | 311 (57.8) |
| F |
240 (42.2) |
| Area of residence† | |
| Coastal Egypt | 12 (3.1) |
| Lower Egypt | 298 (51.0) |
| Cairo metropolitan area | 232 (43.8) |
| Upper Egypt |
9 (2.1) |
| Verbal history of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccination | |
| Yes | 542 (98.1) |
| No |
9 (1.9) |
| Pilgrims infected with influenza A virus, by subtype‡ | |
| Seasonal (H1N1) | 0 |
| Seasonal (H3N2) | 6 (1.0) |
| Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 | 0 |
*Outside the age limits recommended for Hajj pilgrims by the Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia, and enforced by Egypt’s Ministry of Health.
†The proportion of the national population living in these 4 areas according to the 2006 census was 11.3%, 34.3%, 19.4%, and 34.9%, respectively (11). The areas were formed by grouping Egypt’s governorates as follows: Coastal Egypt: Alexandria, Damietta, Ismailia, Matrouh, North Sinai, Port-Said, Suez, Red Sea; Lower Egypt: Behera, Dakahlia, Gharbia, Kafr-ElSheikh, Menoufia, Sharkia; Cairo metropolitan area: Cairo, Giza, Kalyoubia; Upper Egypt: Aswan, Asyout, Beni-Suef, ElWadi ElGidid, Fayoum, Helwan, Luxor City, Menia, Qena, South Sinai, Suhag, and 6th October.
‡By real-time reverse transcription PCR testing.
