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
. 2015 Feb 18:12:3.
doi: 10.1186/s12982-015-0025-8. eCollection 2015.

Pilgrims and MERS-CoV: what's the risk?

Tarek Soliman  1 , Alex R Cook  2 , Richard J Coker  3
Affiliations

Pilgrims and MERS-CoV: what's the risk?

Tarek Soliman et al. Emerg Themes Epidemiol. .

Abstract

The risk of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus spreading globally is worrying, given the annual mass gathering of the Hajj and the year-long influx of pilgrims undertaking the Umrah. Based on the incidence in Saudi Arabia since June 2012, the most likely scenario given recent pilgrim numbers is estimated to be one case per Hajj, and three Umrah pilgrims per year, but which could plausibly reach seven and ten pilgrims respectively. In addition to the 2015 Hajj, national surveillance systems should be on the alert for the low but long-lasting risk of infected pilgrims returning from the Umrah throughout the year.

Keywords: Coronavirus; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Mass gathering.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. The WHO MERS-CoV Research Group. State of Knowledge and Data Gaps of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Humans. PLoS Curr. 2013. Available: http://currents.plos.org/outbreaks/?p=23143. Accessed 20 June 2014. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Coronavirus Website - Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [http://www.moh.gov.sa/en/CCC/].
    1. WHO. Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly closes with concern over new global health threat. 2013. Available: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/world_health_assembly_.... Accessed 3 July 2014.
    1. WHO . Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) summary and literature update–as of 11 June 2014. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2014.
    1. WHO . MERS-CoV summary update 16: summary and literature update as of 11 June 2014. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2014.

LinkOut - more resources