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
. 2020 Dec;10(4):247-249.
doi: 10.2991/jegh.k.200620.001. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Establishing Medical Coverage and Epidemiological Surveillance during the Grand Magal of Touba in Senegal: A Public Health Need

Cheikh Sokhna  1   2 , Balla Mbacké Mboup  3 , Ndiaw Goumbala  2 , Mamadou Dieng  3 , Ahmadou Bamba Sylla  3 , Didier Raoult  4 , Philippe Parola  1 , Philippe Gautret  1
Affiliations

Establishing Medical Coverage and Epidemiological Surveillance during the Grand Magal of Touba in Senegal: A Public Health Need

Cheikh Sokhna et al. J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

The Grand Magal is a religious pilgrimage that takes place in Senegal. An estimated 4-5 million individuals yearly gather in the holy city of Touba. Pilgrims comes from the whole Senegal and surrounding countries and from countries outside of Africa where Mouride Senegalese emigrated. It is the largest Mass Gathering (MG) event of the Mouride community and the largest Muslim religious MG in West Africa. The context of the Grand Magal MG is unique given its location in a tropical developing country and its international component which may favour the globalization of local endemic diseases and warrants investment in modern methods for public health surveillance and planning of the event.

Keywords: Covid-19; Grand Magal of Touba; Mass gathering; Senegal; surveillance system.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Grand Magal de Touba in 2019, the largest mass gathering in Senegal.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Lai CC, Shih TP, Ko WC, Tang HJ, Hsueh PR. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): the epidemic and the challenges. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020;55 doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105924. 105924. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak situation. 2020 Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 (accessed April 23, 2020).
    1. Le Ministère de la Santé et de l’Action sociale. Sitrep 14: Coronavirus: Riposte à l’épidémie du nouveau Coronavirus COVID-19, Sénégal. Rapport de Situation N° 14 du 23 avril 2020. Available from: http://www.sante.gouv.sn/activites/sitrep-14-coronavirus-riposte-%C3%A0-... (accessed April 24, 2020).
    1. Sokhna C, Mboup BM, Sow PG, Camara G, Dieng M, Sylla M, et al. Communicable and non-communicable disease risks at the Grand Magal of Touba: the largest mass gathering in Senegal. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2017;19:56–60. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2017.08.005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Finger F, Genolet T, Mari L, de Magny GC, Manga NM, Rinaldo A, et al. Mobile phone data highlights the role of mass gatherings in the spreading of cholera outbreaks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016;113:6421–6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1522305113. - DOI - PMC - PubMed