British pilgrims to the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca could be required to prove they have been vaccinated for swine flu, including showing certificates, Saudi officials warn.
Next month’s pilgrimage, the largest international gathering in the world, provides “perfect” conditions for the spread of the H1N1 pandemic flu virus, scientists warned.
Encouraging pilgrims to get vaccinated at least two weeks before departure is the best way to stop its spread, said U.S. and Arab experts, including Saudi Arabia's deputy minister for preventative medicine.
Authorities are also advising pregnant women and those with health risk factors such as diabetes, chronic heart and lung or kidney problems to stay at home.
Some three million Muslim pilgrims from more than 160 countries will travel to and from the holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.
About two million will be those who have travelled from abroad.
The climax is a four-day period later next month during which people gather in and around Mecca to perform a series of rituals
Writing in a study published in the journal Science, Shahul Ebrahim of the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and Ziad Memish of Saudi Arabia's health ministry, said some of the preparations needed to stop the virus spreading included:
* Encouraging pilgrims to get vaccinated at least two weeks before departure and then provide certificates as evidence.
* Rapid reporting of illnesses from a network of hospitals and clinics back to the emergency operations centre.
* Saudi aid groups donating personal hygiene kits to arriving pilgrims that contain face masks and hand sanitizer.
* Thermal screening equipment to detect passengers with fevers, are in place in Saudi airports.
Dr Memish said due to the large congregating crowds it would make it easier for the virus to spread.
“We are hoping that the countries sending the pilgrims will comply with giving the vaccine and we think that would probably be the best measure to prevent the spread of disease outside the country,” he said.
"Hajj-related exportation of H1N1 virus by returning pilgrims could potentially initiate waves of outbreaks worldwide and burden health care systems.”
“We need to be prepared.”
But the study's authors warned such measures were only partly effective as some infected travellers may not yet be showing symptoms when they arrive.
Health authorities have stopped counting the number of people who have caught swine flu but say many millions are likely to have been infected since it began to spread around the world in March.
It was declared a pandemic in June, and according to the World Health Organisation, as of Oct. 17 there were nearly 5,000 reported deaths worldwide from swine fu including 137 in Britain.
Some three million Muslim pilgrims from more than 160 countries will travel to and from the holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia next month.
Photo: REUTERS
Re: Swine flu: Hajj pilgrims to Mecca ‘required to prove vaccinated’
Wow Swine flu is everywhere. :/
I was looking at myself talking to myself and I realized this conversation...I was having with myself looking at myself was a conversation with myself that I needed to have with myself.
Re: Swine flu: Hajj pilgrims to Mecca ‘required to prove vaccinated’
READ BEFORE GETTING SWINE VACCINE
"Yesterday 30 people had been reporting to the authorities in Sweden that they experienced such severe side effects that they felt the need to contact a hospital. Today the number is 140. The swedish newspaper Expressen is the only one in Sweden reporting on these cases and as usual this is most likely only the tip of a rather large iceberg. UPDATE: According to Dagens Nyheter, the number of reported side effects are now a few hours later 190. 1 person dies after the injection but "no direct relation with the injection has been established". The biggest medical scandal in the history of Sweden has just started.
Even so, Annika Linde, director of The Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI) manages to spin this into something positive by stating "The vaccine has more side effects than the normal flu vaccine. It is a sign that proves that it gives an effective protection."
Thousands of Swedes have been vaccinated so far and the reports of side effects are "flooding in" to The Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI). Annika Linde: "It is obviously so that the vaccine against the swine flu results in more side effects than the normal flu vaccines. That is because the swine flu vaccine contains adjuvants, shark liver oil, which triggers the immune defense to respond. That also results in that the protection against the virus becomes better."
Several severe cases of allergic reactions are reported to the unit for medicinal safety. "So far the reported side effects are not unexpected", says Gunilla Sjölin Forsberg. This unit has now asked some of the many units that vaccinate to report side effects to better get a grip on the situation. This statement alone is shocking since according to normal practice, all side effects should automatically be reported - right?
A nurse who took the shot on wednesday last week is still feeling sick. She got high fever and shivers from the swine flu shot. "-I was shaking in my whole body. It was so sever that I could not even hold a glass of water in my hand.", Lotta Lindström says."
Re: Swine flu: Hajj pilgrims to Mecca ‘required to prove vaccinated’
Why are so many people against the vaccination? It's been devised by the best scientists on the planet (granted, rather hastily, but it still does the job). Inevitably, there will be some deaths, as with any vaccine, but such an occurance is rare. I don't understand why being immunised against a fatal disease is a bad thing.
Re: Swine flu: Hajj pilgrims to Mecca ‘required to prove vaccinated’
format_quote Originally Posted by Supreme
Why are so many people against the vaccination? It's been devised by the best scientists on the planet (granted, rather hastily, but it still does the job). Inevitably, there will be some deaths, as with any vaccine, but such an occurance is rare. I don't understand why being immunised against a fatal disease is a bad thing.
maybe coz its not a fatal disease...
A Muslim Paradise is not a place of arrival, but a way of Travellin
Swine flu kills four in Saudi Arabia on Hajj pilgrimage
Four pilgrims have died of swine flu as they take part in this year's annual Mecca pilgrimage, Saudi officials say.
Three of the victims - a woman from Morocco and men from Sudan and India - were in their seventies. The fourth was a 17-year-old girl from Nigeria.
The Health Ministry said none of the four foreign victims had been vaccinated against the H1N1 virus.
The latest figures from the World Health Organization show the virus has so far killed 6,750 people worldwide.
An official statement released by the ministry said all had underlying health problems, including cancer and respiratory illness, AFP news agency reported.
Three of the victims died in Medina and one in Mecca.
Precautions
Up to three million Muslims from around the world take part in the holy pilgrimage every year, but health officials have expressed fears that it could provide a breeding ground for the virus.
Authorities had tried to prepare for any outbreaks by installing thermal cameras at airports and sea terminals, deploying 15,000 additional health workers and ensuring hundreds of extra beds were available.
Health ministry spokesman Dr Khaled Marghlani told AFP that 16 other people had diagnosed with swine flu and four remain in hospital in "critical condition".
He added 12 others had recovered following treatment.
The Saudi government has said all pilgrims need a certificate of vaccination before they can apply for a visa.
In September, the Egyptian authorities barred hundreds of Muslim pilgrims in Cairo from travelling to Mecca because of fears about the virus.
In July, an Egyptian woman returning from the lesser Umrah pilgrimage became the first person to die of swine flu in the Middle East and Africa.
Performing the Hajj is incumbent upon all Muslims who have the means to make the journey to Mecca.
Iran banned all pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia during Ramadan in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus.
Pilgrims were supposed to have been vaccinated before arriving for the Hajj
Thousands of pilgrims are already in Saudi Arabia for Hajj
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