Hajj: infectious disease surveillance and control

Abstract

Religious festivals attract a large number of pilgrims from worldwide and are a potential risk for the transmission of infectious diseases between pilgrims, and to the indigenous population. The gathering of a large number of pilgrims could compromise the health system of the host country. The threat to global health security posed by infectious diseases with epidemic potential shows the importance of advanced planning of public health surveillance and response at these religious events. Saudi Arabia has extensive experience of providing health care at mass gatherings acquired through decades of managing millions of pilgrims at the Hajj. In this report, we describe the extensive public health planning, surveillance systems used to monitor public health risks, and health services provided and accessed during Hajj 2012 and Hajj 2013 that together attracted more than 5 million pilgrims from 184 countries. We also describe the recent establishment of the Global Center for Mass Gathering Medicine, a Saudi Government partnership with the WHO Collaborating Centre for Mass Gatherings Medicine, Gulf Co-operation Council states, UK universities, and public health institutions globally.

Public Health Emergency Operations Center - A critical component of mass gatherings management infrastructure

“…PHEOCs are only a formalized and developed staging area to manage a crisis and only functions well if the support infrastructure is available. Established PHEOCs improves the capacity of mass gathering management to effectively respond to public health crisis that unpredictably threatens to overwhelm routine capabilities [27,28,33,34,36,37].…”

“…The use of electronic based system for data collection is more efficient than paper-based systems and reduce latency while increasing the quality of information [26]. During the 2012 Hajj, digital pens were introduced to convert data from conventional paper-based system into digitalized display [27,28]. The information technology system captures data, analyzes the data and displays them at the Hajj Command and Control Center [27].…”

Exploring Australian Hajj Tour Operators’ Knowledge and Practices Regarding Pilgrims’ Health Risks: A Qualitative Study (Preprint)

“…As the world's largest annual mass gathering, Hajj presents a major challenge to disease control in Saudi Arabia, as increasingly more people travel each year to commemorate the pilgrimage [1]. This challenge is not only for Saudi Arabia but also internationally with the risk of pilgrims importing infectious diseases into their home countries when they return [2].…”

Poor Knowledge of Tuberculosis among the Population of Jeddah and Makkah Saudi Arabia, a High-Risk Area

“…Jeddah is the second largest city in KSA and the principal international travel gateway to Makkah. Millions of pilgrims each year come from outside KSA [1], and over 50% from regions where tuberculosis is endemic, such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, southeast Asia and Africa. Asia and Africa account for 85% of global TB cases [2].…”