Journal of Infection and Public Health
Volume 1, Issue 1 , Pages 27-32 , 2008

Hajj: Health lessons for mass gatherings

  • Shuja Shafi

      Affiliations

    • Clinical Microbiology and Health Protection Agency Collaborating Laboratory, Northwick Park & St Marks Hospital, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3UJ, London, UK
    • On behalf of Health at Hajj and Umrah (HAHU) Research Group.
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author at: Department of Microbiology and Health Protection Agency Collaborating Laboratory, Northwick Park & St Marks Hospital, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3UJ, London, UK.
    • ,
  • Robert Booy

      Affiliations

    • Academic Unit of Child Health, Barts and the London Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK
    • National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Disease, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
    • On behalf of Health at Hajj and Umrah (HAHU) Research Group.
    • ,
  • Elizabeth Haworth

      Affiliations

    • Health Protection Agency South East, London, UK
    • On behalf of Health at Hajj and Umrah (HAHU) Research Group.
    • ,
  • Harunor Rashid

      Affiliations

    • Academic Unit of Child Health, Barts and the London Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK
    • On behalf of Health at Hajj and Umrah (HAHU) Research Group.
    • ,
  • Ziad A. Memish

      Affiliations

    • Departments of Medicine, Infection Prevention and Control, King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
    • On behalf of Health at Hajj and Umrah (HAHU) Research Group.

Received 12 August 2008 ,Revised 20 August 2008 ,Accepted 21 August 2008.

References 

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  3. Aguilera JF, Perrocheau A, Meffre C, Hahné S W135 Working Group. Outbreak of serogroup W135 meningococcal disease after the Hajj pilgrimage, Europe, 2000. Emerg Infect Dis. 2002;8:761–767
  4. Ahmed QA, Arabi YM, Memish ZA. Health risks at the Hajj. Lancet. 2006;367:1008–1015
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  10. Madani TA, Ghabrah TM. Meningococcal, influenza virus, and hepatitis B virus vaccination coverage level among health care workers in Hajj. BMC Infect Dis. 2007;7:80
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  12. Madani TA, Ghabrah TM, Al-Hedaithy MA, Alhazmi MA, Alazraqi TA, Albarrak AM, et al. Causes of hospitalization of pilgrims in the Hajj season of the Islamic year 1423 (2003). Ann Saudi Med. 2006;26:346–351
  13. Rashid H, Shafi S, Haworth E, El Bashir H, Memish ZA, Sudhanva M, et al. Viral respiratory infections at the Hajj: comparison between UK and Saudi pilgrims. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2008;14:569–574
  14. Wilder-Smith A, Earnest A, Ravindran S, Paton NI. High incidence of pertussis among Hajj pilgrims. Clin Infect Dis. 2003;37:1270–1272
  15. Alzeer A, Mashlah A, Fakim N, Al-Sugair N, Al-Hedaithy M, Al-Majed S, et al. Tuberculosis is the commonest cause of pneumonia requiring hospitalization during Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah). J Infect. 1998;36:303–306
  16. Balkhy HH, Memish ZA, Bafaqeer S, Almuneef MA. Influenza a common viral infection among Hajj pilgrims: time for routine surveillance and vaccination. J Travel Med. 2004;11:82–86
  17. Rashid H, Haworth E, Shafi S, Memish ZA, Booy R. Pandemic influenza: mass gatherings and mass infection. Lancet Infect Dis. 2008;8:526–527
  18. World Health Organization. Communicable disease alert and response for mass gatherings. Available from http://www.who.int/csr/mass_gathering/en/ (Accessed: 3rd August 2008).

PII: S1876-0341(08)00008-7

doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2008.08.008

Journal of Infection and Public Health
Volume 1, Issue 1 , Pages 27-32 , 2008

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