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Increase in serogroup W invasive meningococcal disease in England associated with pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, January 2024 to June 2025
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View Affiliations Hide AffiliationsShamez N LadhaniShamez.Ladhani ukhsa.gov.uk
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Citation style for this article: . Increase in serogroup W invasive meningococcal disease in England associated with pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, January 2024 to June 2025. Euro Surveill. 2025;30(31):pii=2500509. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2025.30.31.2500509 Received: 11 Jul 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025
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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