RIYADH, 20 October 2004 — Pilgrims will be required to produce yellow fever and meningitis vaccination certificates before being granted entry into the Kingdom.

“Any suspected cases diagnosed at the entry points of Saudi Arabia will be immediately sent to a local hospital designated by the Ministry of Health,” said Dr. Amin Mishkhes, director of infectious diseases at the ministry. “Strict rules will be applied for pilgrims coming from 32 African and 13 Latin American countries, identified as endemic on the basis of the reports of World Health Organization (WHO),” said Dr. Mishkhes.

Instructions regarding the mandatory vaccination have already been sent to the Saudi diplomatic missions abroad. The names of countries, classified as endemic for meningitis and yellow fever, were not given.

The MoH official, however, said that that the ministry had geared itself to check the spread of these contagious diseases and had made elaborate arrangements on entry points as well as in different parts of the country to vaccinate the pilgrims.

He said the ministry will concentrate on preventive medicine by inspecting pilgrims on arrival and providing them with vaccinations against infectious diseases such as meningitis and yellow fever.

The ministry has made elaborate arrangements to screen pilgrims for new diseases such as Rift valley fever and SARS. “At the very outset, anyone suspected of suffering from these diseases will be denied Haj visas and will not be allowed to travel from their countries of origin itself,” said another official on the condition of anonymity.

He reiterated that the ministry will have added focus on preventive medicine by inspecting pilgrims on arrival and providing them with vaccinations against infectious diseases such as meningitis and yellow fever.

The MoH will dispatch health teams to the holy cities to monitor pilgrims with infectious diseases, to assess the environment and sanitation and organize effective health education programs among them.

He pointed out that food poisoning, influenza, cholera and meningitis are the most common health problems faced by pilgrims.

They usually result from pilgrims ignoring basic health rules. “Hence, pilgrims traveling to the Kingdom by air will not be allowed to bring food materials,” said Dr. Mishkhes.

Only pilgrims coming by road or sea, he said, will be allowed to carry food enough for their consumption until they reach Saudi Arabia. The ministry, he said, will maintain a round-the-clock vigil on incoming pilgrims to identify suspected cases infected with contagious diseases.

The Health Education Department in the ministry is also preparing itself in advance.

It has already embarked on a project to distribute educational pamphlets in several languages to inform the pilgrims about basic health rules. The department will also organize mobile teams to visit the camps with pilgrims of different nationalities to publicize health messages using audio visual aids.

Dr. Mishkhes said Haj visas will be issued only on production of vaccination certificates. The ministry will also find out information about new contagious ailments.

He noted that diseases like malaria and TB are staging a comeback, while newly emerging diseases, such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), bird flu, AIDS and multi-drug resistant salmonella pose new challenges to health care providers.

Another area of concern, according to Dr. Mishkhes, is environmental pollution caused by a growing number of automobiles and industrial expansion. “This has resulted in the high incidence of bronchitis and other chest diseases,” said the official.