Influenza and the Hajj: defining influenza-like illness clinically

摘要

Recent studies have challenged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition of influenza-like illness (ILI) as ‘temperature of ≥37.8?°C and either cough or sore throat in the absence of a known cause other than influenza’.1–3 We assessed the sensitivity and specificity of this definition in identifying ILI at the Hajj, the yearly pilgrimage of Muslims to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where an estimated 24?000 pilgrims suffer from influenza each year.4–6