AlQa'dah 21, 1435, Sep 16, 2014, SPA -- The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced today that it has developed a new procedural mechanism to help detect the spread of epidemics during Hajj, a gathering attracts some three million pilgrims from all over the world every year. In a statement on its website, MOH said the new measure, which goes into effect for one month preceding Hajj, includes, as part of a package of comprehensive procedures and policies, filling a form by each pilgrim and Umrah performer coming to the Kingdom, showing whether he/she has ever visited a contagious-hit country or ever got infected by symptoms of hemorrhagic fever or other contagious infections. The other measures adopted by MOH included prevention of travel to Ebola-stricken countries, assigning three specialized centers to contain and treat infectious diseases, intensifying the educational and acculturation programs for health care personnel, upgrading the preparedness of the infrastructure to respond to emergency, including the Command and Control center in Jeddah and a number of movable labs in Makkah and Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah.
