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Abstract

England is experiencing an increase in serogroup W invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) caused by ‘strain A’ of the meningococcal sequence type 11 clonal complex (MenW:cc11) Hajj strain sublineage. Travel-associated and non-travel-associated meningococci from four strain A substrains (A1–A4) accounted for 32 of 59 MenW IMD cases between January 2024 and June 2025, 14 in people returning from Saudi Arabia or household contacts; eight of 14 linked to Umrah pilgrimage. Communications about MenACWY vaccination for pilgrims year-round should be reinforced.

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/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2025.30.31.2500509
2025-08-07
2025-08-08
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2025.30.31.2500509
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