- Mass gatherings and vaccines usefulness.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Mass gatherings (MGs) are usually pre-planned large events that are known to amplify the risk of infectious disease (1). Although, the risk and pattern of diseases at mass gatherings vary depending on the features of the event such as crowding, shared accommodation, possibilities of the participants to prolonged exposure and close contact with infectious individuals, type of activities, and also the characteristics of the participants including their age & immunity to infectious agents, many of these can be prevented by appropriate vaccinations (2, 3). The aim of this article is to present a summary of the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases in MGs. Method(s) The method used to develop this article weas based on a litterature review. A summaryzing process of the documented risk of vaccine-preventable diseases in MGs was conducted to extract the most useful knowledge on this topic. It explored also available evidence on the effectiveness of vaccination policies for reducing disease transmission associated with these events and also the outstanding questions that need to be addressed for future consideration of some new and promising vaccines. Pubmed- Medline, Scopus, web of science and google Scholar were used to search over the published litterature. Result(s) The current Hajj vaccination policy includes mandatory vaccination for all pilgrims against meningococcal disease. This is in addition to mandatory vaccination against yellow fever, polio and Sarscov2 for pilgrims coming from endemic region. The Saudi Ministry of Health also strongly recommends seasonal influenza vaccination for all pilgrims, particularly those at high risk of infection complications. Data on the vaccination requirements for other mass gathering events such as Kumbh Mela and other religious, sports and entertainment events are still clearly lacking. Travelers to the FIFA 2022, Qatar, were advised to remain up-to-date with routine vaccines. Apart from the hajj settings, no data are available on the possible impact of the current vaccination policy on the control of infectious disease transmission in mass gatherings. The available data demonstrate that the current vaccination policy and health requirement for hajj is effectively contributing towards controlling the transmission of infectious diseases associated with Hajj pilgrimage (37), however evidence on effectiveness is clearly lacking. Moreover, there is no vaccination policy as part of health requirements for attendance in Kumbh Melain India. Conclusion(s) While taking into account local immunization policies of countries of origin and countries of travel, for diseases with known effective prequalified vaccines, WHO recommends that travelers at risk of developing complications, or at increased risk of acquiring and spreading infection such as those attending mass events, should consider vaccination as a preventive measure. Such policies are effective when these are driven by evidence and its effectiveness are measured through large scale studies. Mots cles Mass Gatherings, Vaccines, Vaccination, Prevention Declaration de liens d'interets Les auteurs n'ont pas precise leurs eventuels liens d'interets.Copyright © 2023