Respiratory and gastrointestinal infections at the 2017 Grand Magal de Touba, Senegal: A prospective cohort survey

Background: The Grand Magal of Touba is the largest Muslim pilgrimage in Senegal with a potential for infectious disease transmission.

Methods: Clinical follow-up, adherence to preventive measures and qPCR-based respiratory and gastrointestinal pathogens carriage pre- and post-Magal, were assessed.

Results: 110 pilgrims from South Senegal were included. The duration of stay in Touba was 3 days. 41.8% and 14.5% pilgrims reported respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms. Most individuals having the onset of symptoms during their stay in Touba, or soon after returning. The acquisition of rhinoviruses, coronaviruses and adenovirus was 13.0, 16.7 and 4.6% respectively and that of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae was 3.7% and 26.9%. Acquisition of gastrointestinal viruses and parasites was low, while bacterial acquisition ranged from 2.2% for Campylobacter jejuni to 33.0% for enteropathogenic Escherichia coli.

Conclusion: This preliminary study confirms that Grand Magal pilgrims are likely to be exposed to communicable disease risk as observed in other pilgrimage settings. Further study including larger numbers of pilgrims are needed to investigate potential risk factors for respiratory and gastrointestinal infections at the Grand Magal.