Role of mass gatherings in transmission of respiratory tract infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae

Respiratory infection is one of the infections that can be transmitted in closed places due to the ease of transmission of pathogens from infected people to healthy people through droplets from coughing and sneezing, among these bacterial causes, Haemophilus influenza. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of this type of bacteria among pilgrims coming from different geographical locations in the world and determine the antibiotic-resistant strains. Around 1226 nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 613 pilgrims from several different nationalities before and after completing the Hajj. These specimens were cultivated on chocolate agar medium and the pathogens were identified according to Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) protocol and confirmed by an automated system machine (VITEK2). There is no H. influenzae was detected among pilgrims before performing Hajj and the rate of transmission of H. influenzae was 1% after performing Hajj. The most effective antibiotics against to H. influenza isolates from pilgrims was Rifampicin while all the isolates were resistant to ampicillin. The continuous monitorization of the rate of potentially pathogenic bacterial during the Hajj season is required in order to develop advanced strategies to confront any outbreak of any infectious disease among the pilgrims.   Key words: Hajj season, nasopharyngeal swabs, ethnic group, Makkah.