We describe the first case of Neisseria meningitidis W135 meningitis in Turkey. The strain was genotypically unrelated to the clone (W)ET-37, isolated from Hajj pilgrims in 2000.

This note describes an integrated recognition system for identifying missing and found objects as well as missing, dead, and found people during Hajj and Umrah seasons in the two Holy cities of Makkah and Madina in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is assumed that the total estimated number of pilgrims will reach 20 millions during the next decade. The ultimate goal of this system is to integrate...

Hajj is a unique gathering of its kind and poses a challenge to its organisers. Recently many types of identification and sensor devices, including RFID tags, have been developed. Such technologies, together with the use of database systems, can be extremely useful in improving the Hajj management. Sensor devices can be used to track movements of individuals during the Hajj period. Various type...

The Islamic Hajj to Makkah (Mecca) has been associated with outbreaks of invasive meningococcal disease and the global spread of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W-135. For Hajj pilgrims the quadrivalent vaccination against serogroups A, C, W-135 and Y is a mandatory requirement. Novel conjugate vaccines may provide benefits for the community by reduction of carriage. With the introduction of t...

An outbreak of serogroup W-135 meningococcal disease was reported among pilgrims returning from the annual hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) in mid-March 2000. Molecular characterization was used to investigate the similarity of the hajj-associated W-135 strains with those isolated in Sweden during a 23-year period (1978 to 2000). The same hajj-associated genosubtype, genosubtype P1.5,2,36b, has been ...

BACKGROUND Annually millions of Muslims depart to Saudi Arabia for performing a religious pilgrimage called "Hajj". In this ceremony, pilgrims face numerous health hazards and injuries such as pressing in overcrowding, sliding, burning, falling down, traffic accidents etc. The main purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of injuries in Hajj period across 2004 to 2008. METHODS Th...

background: respiratory diseases/syndromes are the most common causes of referring to physicians among pilgrims in hajj . they lead to high morbidity , impose high costs on the health system and are among the major obstacles for pilgrims to perform hajj duties. the main aim of our study was to determine types, frequencies, etiologies, and epidemiologic factors of respiratory diseases among iran...

In this retrospective study, records of Iranian Hajj pilgrims who were hospitalized in 2 Iranian hospitals in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia, from 2005 to 2007, were reviewed. Of 600 patients who were hospitalized, 12 (2.0%) were admitted due to nephrological causes, which included kidney calculi (n = 7; 58.4%), acute kidney failure (n = 2; 16.7%), urinary tract infection (n = 1; 8.3%), urinary...

  Background: Respiratory diseases/syndromes are the most common causes of referring to physicians among pilgrims in Hajj . They lead to high morbidity , impose high costs on the health system and are among the major obstacles for pilgrims to perform Hajj duties. The main aim of our study was to determine types, frequencies, etiologies, and epidemiologic factors of respiratory diseases among Ir...