The Ministry of Health administered vaccines and polio doses to thousands of incoming pilgrims who have not taken their vaccination at home, a senior health official from the Haj Terminal told Arab News by telephone on Sunday.

Abdul Ghani Mohamed Al-Malki, who is in charge of the medical and technical support health team at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, said that more than half a million pilgrims came under the ministry monitoring system.

“Among those pilgrims, more than 172,000 pilgrims were given polio doses, while almost half a million were given vaccines against meningitis and more than 88,000 underwent medical treatment for various ailments,” he said.

Vaccination against meningitis is mandatory on all pilgrims irrespective of their nationalities.

Having a polio dose is compulsory for all pilgrims from African countries, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Afghanistan.

An oral dose against polio is compulsory for pilgrims from Uganda, Kenya, Benin, Angola, Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia.

The WHO declared similar emergencies for polio in May in 2009.

There were five acute cases of diseases and they were sent to the nearest hospital in Jeddah, while others who had minor health problems were referred to hospitals in the neighborhood.

Abdulaziz Al Hudaithi, head of the public health awareness campaign at the airport, said the ministry has deployed more than 600 health officials to look after the health interests of pilgrims.

“We have distributed more than 30,000 brochures containing health-related messages to all arriving pilgrims,” he said, pointing out that these pamphlets are available in eight languages.

“We also interact with the pilgrims and tell them the dos and don’ts during their stay in the holy cities to prevent themselves from getting infected with various diseases,” he said , adding that the MoH officials also provide the pilgrims with face tissues and sanitizers to keep them away from infection.

This year, the Ministry of Health has fielded a total of 22,000 medics and paramedics to look after the welfare of local and foreign Haj pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah.

In addition to a fleet of 100 ambulances, the ministry has also deployed some 50 mini ambulances to be able to get into crowded areas to ferry patients to the nearest hospital.

There are 141 primary health centers, which include 100 primary health centers and 17 emergency centers near the Jamaraat bridge (stoning area).