2016, Volume 10, Issue 4
Frontiers of Medicine >> 2016, Volume 10, Issue 4 doi: 10.1007/s11684-016-0487-2
Yellow fever and Hajj: with all eyes on Zika, a familiar flavivirus remains a threat
1. Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Winthrop University Hospital; State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA.
2. Ministry of Health, Riyadh 11514, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
3. College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh 11533, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Abstract
Hajj is among the world’s largest mass gatherings, drawing between 2 and 3.5 million Muslims from 183 nations annually to perform pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Infectious disease outbreaks can be imported both into the Hajj population and exported internationally by returning pilgrims. The domestic Saudi population can also be at risk of outbreaks traveling amid this mass migration. With yellow fever reported for the first time in China following the infection of expatriate Chinese workers in Angola and a full blown outbreak underway in wider West Africa, the prospect of yellow fever outbreaks in Asia threatens to impact Saudi Arabia, both during and beyond the Hajj season. With global focus trained on Zika, the rising threat of yellow fever cannot be overlooked. Strategies to mitigate risk to Saudi Arabia and the global population are thereby suggested.
Keywords
yellow fever ; mass gathering ; Saudi Arabia ; Hajj ; Zika virus
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