Influenza at the 2021 Grand Magal of Touba and possible spread to rural villages in South Senegal - a genomic epidemiological study.

Objectives: Influenza is frequent among pilgrims participating in the Grand Magal de Touba (GMT), in Senegal, with a potential to spread to contacts when they return home.

Methods: Ill pilgrims consulting at a health care center in Mbacké city close to Touba during the 2021 GMT, pilgrims returning to Dielmo and Ndiop villages, and patients who did not travel to Touba and consulted at health care centers in these two villages in 2021 were tested for the influenza virus by polymerase chain reaction on nasopharyngeal samples. Next-generation sequencing and comparative and phylogenetic analyses of influenza A virus genomes were performed.