Hajj advice should be given to all pilgrims
Editor—I
lived in Saudi Arabia in the early '90s and through the Gulf war.
The country was transformed into a mass of moving white pilgrims every
year during Hajj. I wanted to visit Mecca, but as a Christian I was not
allowed.
My husband was working for
the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia. I remember him saying many
times that after Hajj you have to be careful in hospital laboratories
because many infections are at their zenith at that
time.
Last month's article
covered all aspects of precautions to be taken during the
Hajj.1
If it were available as a booklet to all pilgrims, maybe even before
they enter Saudi Arabia, this would reduce the number of casualties and
help to lessen the burden on Saudi healthcare
systems.
Maya Roche, associate professor, Department of Biochemistry, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal, India
Email: mayaroche@hotmail.com
studentBMJ 2005;13:89-132 March ISSN 0966-6494
- Gatrad AR, Sheikh A. Hajj: journey of a lifetime. studentBMJ 2005;13:76-8. (February.)
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Responses published this month
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Articles
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Responses
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LETTERS
Hajj advice should be given to all pilgrims
Maya Roche (March 2005)
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Taiyyab Mehmood
(August 23rd, 2005)
Read this response
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LETTERS
Hajj advice should be given to all pilgrims
Maya Roche (March 2005)
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Taiyyab Mehmood
(August 23rd, 2005)
Medical Student/Medicine/3rd year, England/Latvia mrt1066@yahoo.com
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I concur totally. It is a legal obligation of the NHS to safeguard and educate the subjects of this nation who travel to Saudi Arabia. They must publish booklets and have compulsory health checks on all people going to not just Saudi Arabia but to any endemic country - there and back again. Due to the compliance of the NHS and indeed the British Government and its Health Ministry incidences for instance Tb is not the rise, many strains having come from endemic areas e.g. Saudi Arabia.
In the instance of Hajj, there needs to be a bi-lateral co-operation of Saudi Arabia with ALL health ministries around the world where the Hajji pilgrims come from the monitor each individuals health before during and afterwards.
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