Standing in the middle of a long queue at Jeddah airport, Mahdi Sharif is one of millions of Muslims waiting to enter Saudi Arabia to start the annual Haj pilgrimage despite a global outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus. Little fazed by the spread of the virus, Sharif, who has been waiting for two years to be selected from a raffle of 5,000 Kurdish Iraqis to visit Saudi Arabia, wears a protection mask but never thought for a second of delaying his pilgrimage. “This year I was chosen so I came, I could not say no. The happiness of being chosen is stronger than fear (of illness),” said Sharif in a muffled voice through his medical mask. Saudi authorities have tightened health measures at the airports and sea port where pilgrims arrive. At Jeddah airport the Health Ministry increased medical staff by 22 percent from the previous year to 568 that includes doctors, nurses, lab technicians and pharmacists. Upon arrival, pilgrims pass by thermal censors installed at the end of each jetway to detect their temperature. If a pilgrim was found to have a temperature above 38 degrees, an alarm will sound and the pilgrim will be taken aside for examination. “If the fever is accompanied by symptoms of the flu ... they will take a swab for test. If found positive, they will keep him under observation for five days and give him treatment,” said Mohamed Al-Harti, health manager at King Abdulaziz airport. King Saud Hospital in Jeddah, created especially to cater for H1N1 cases during the Haj, currently has up to 300 beds but officials say that no confirmed cases have been recorded yet. The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday everyone going on Haj must be vaccinated against swine flu before leaving the country. “We have decided to make it mandatory for the Haj pilgrims to take the swine flu vaccine in order to protect them, protect their families and protect all those around them,” Mahmoud Fikri, chairman of the National Committee for Combatting Swine Flu, was quoted as saying by The National. Some countries in the region, including Iraq and Syria, are making Haj the top priority for H1N1 vaccines. Syria is also applying restrictions barring the elderly and those under 18 from making the journey. Other nations, like Jordan and Lebanon, have not put any restrictions in place and have so far not provided vaccinations. Libya, which chooses its pilgrims by lottery, is seeking to limit the numbers this year, allowing those chosen to postpone their trips until next year and almost doubling the fees pilgrims need to pay.
