Meningococcal W135 carriage; enhanced surveillance amongst east London Muslim pilgrims and their household contacts before and after attending the 2002 Hajj.

Background: For two successive years, 2000 and 2001, there was a world-wide outbreak of W135 meningococcal disease amongst pilgrims who attended the Hajj and in their contacts after returning home.

Methods: Beginning January 2002, we offered meningococcal quadrivalent polysaccharide vaccine (against serogroups A, C, Y and W135) to pilgrims and collected a throat swab for meningococcal W135 carriage before and after their pilgrimage.

Results: The overall Neisseria meningitidis carriage pre-Hajj was 8.

W135 meningococcal pericarditis: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Pericarditis is a rare but recognized complication of meningococcal disease. After the 2000 and 2001 hajj in Saudi Arabia, a worldwide outbreak of meningococcal W135:2a:P1.2,5 (epidemic strain) was reported including the United Kingdom.