Absence of Neisseria meningitidis from throat swabs of Kuwaiti pilgrims after returning from the Hajj.

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether or not Neisseria meningitidis was present in the throat of Kuwaiti pilgrims after returning from the Hajj. METHOD Throat swabs were taken from 177 participants 1 week after returning from the Hajj. The participants were asked about: associated medical conditions, meningococcal vaccination status and the intake of ciprofloxacin before leaving Mecca for Kuwait. RESULTS There was no throat colonization with N. meningitidis on any of the throat swabs. Of the 177 pilgrims, 163 (92%) were vaccinated with meningococcal quadrivalent vaccine before leaving to Saudi Arabia. Ninety-seven of the pilgrims (83%) had received one dose of ciprofloxacin before leaving Mecca. CONCLUSION The result showed that vaccination before leaving Kuwait and ciprofloxacin prophylaxis were effective in preventing throat colonization with Neisseria meningitidis.