Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2006 Mar 25;367(9515):1008-15.
doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68429-8.

Health risks at the Hajj

Qanta A Ahmed  1 , Yaseen M Arabi, Ziad A Memish
Affiliations
Review

Health risks at the Hajj

Qanta A Ahmed et al. Lancet. .

Abstract

Annually, millions of Muslims embark on a religious pilgrimage called the "Hajj" to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The mass migration during the Hajj is unparalleled in scale, and pilgrims face numerous health hazards. The extreme congestion of people and vehicles during this time amplifies health risks, such as those from infectious diseases, that vary each year. Since the Hajj is dictated by the lunar calendar, which is shorter than the Gregorian calendar, it presents public-health policy planners with a moving target, demanding constant preparedness. We review the communicable and non-communicable hazards that pilgrims face. With the rise in global travel, preventing disease transmission has become paramount to avoid the spread of infectious diseases, including SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), avian influenza, and haemorrhagic fever. We examine the response of clinicians, the Saudi Ministry of Health, and Hajj authorities to these unique problems, and list health recommendations for prospective pilgrims.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Hajj Journey
Figure 2
Figure 2
Numbers of pilgrims arriving from abroad for Umrah: 2002–04
Figure 3
Figure 3
Numbers of pilgrims arriving for the Hajj from abroad: 2005
Figure 4
Figure 4
Crowds at the Hajj
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Meningococcal vaccine coverage in Hajj pilgrims.
    El Bashir H, Rashid H, Memish ZA, Shafi S; Health at Hajj and Umra Research Group. El Bashir H, et al. Lancet. 2007 Apr 21;369(9570):1343. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60625-4. Lancet. 2007. PMID: 17448813 No abstract available.

References

    1. Memish ZA. Infection control in Saudi Arabia: meeting the challenge. Am J Infect Control. 2002;30:57–65. - PubMed
    1. Memish ZA, Venkatesh S, Ahmed QA. Travel epidemiology: the Saudi perspective. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2003;21:96–101. - PubMed
    1. Gatrad AR, Sheikh A. Hajj: journey of a lifetime. BMJ. 2005;330:133–137. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Health conditions for travellers to Saudi Arabia pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 2005;80:431–432. - PubMed
    1. Risk for meningococcal disease associated with the Hajj 2001. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2001;50:97–98. - PubMed