Hajj pilgrims at high risk of getting infectious diseases

Docs warn of vision risk

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 6 (Agencies): Senior doctors from the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH), a national Hajj/ Umrah specific organisation working for the welfare and wellbeing of pilgrims, have issued a warning to prospective pilgrims to safeguard their health from the risk of deadly infectious diseases.

Over two million prospective Hajj pilgrims from around the world will converge at Makkah, Saudi Arabia this month for the Hajj pilgrimage. Pilgrims have always been at high risk of contracting infectious diseases due to the close proximity with millions of people during the Hajj pilgrimage, especially at ceremonies and while sharing accommodation and public transport. The infectious diseases can be transmitted through direct person-to-person contact via droplets, nasal or throat secretions of infected individuals. Close and prolonged contact with infected individuals (eg sneezing and coughing on someone, sharing an affected person’s used utensils) facilitates the spread of infection. Elderly and sick pilgrims suffering from chronic diseases (ie lungs, heart, kidney, liver, and diabetes), children, pregnant women, and those with immune deficiency are at a higher risk of catching infectious diseases.

Senior doctors from the ABH remind the pilgrims with diabetes and other chronic illnesses about the increased risk of hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose) due to excessive physical activities being undertaken amongst a large crowded environment. Heat and fatigue will be a great risk specifically to elderly, sick and frail people as temperatures in Makkah are expected to reach up to 44 degrees Celsius during the Hajj period. They need to protect themselves from the sun, dehydration, exhaustion, foot problems, respiratory and bronchial illnesses, and they should wear special socks to avoid foot injuries and frictions. Pilgrims on medication need to take an adequate supply of medicines with them.

Regrettably, many countries are not taking the issue of their pilgrims’ health seriously. Initiatives to educate prospective pilgrims about preventative measures to avoid contracting these diseases are not being implemented vigorously. Due to the lack of awareness of this life-saving information, a vast majority of Hajj pilgrims are at a high risk of contracting infectious diseases.

All efforts should be made to implement the directives issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in which member countries are required to raise awareness amongst the prospective pilgrims of the risks of contracting the deadly and lethal infectious diseases, and the measures they should take to protect themselves.

‘This awareness is also extremely important in eliminating the risk of the spread of these deadly infectious diseases worldwide once the pilgrims return to their home countries,’ said senior doctors from the ABH, in a joint statement.

As the UAE enters the hottest part of its summer, doctors at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi are warning residents of the effect that sunny, dry and dusty conditions can have risk on their eye exposure.

A pterygium is a preventable eye condition caused by chronic exposure of the eye to sunlight, heat and dust. Characterized by an abnormal growth of mucus membrane over the front of the eyeball, pterygia can cause irritation, redness and tearing. Left untreated, the condition can obscure a person’s vision by growing over the pupil or causing a change in the way the eye focuses.

Globally, pterygia are estimated to affect around one in 10 people, and the condition is particularly prevalent in the Middle East, given the sunny, dry and dusty conditions in the region. The condition is most common in adult men.

“Pterygia are particularly common in the UAE as it is closely linked to sunny, dry, and dusty conditions. The condition is preventable by protecting your eyes from sunlight as well as wind and dust by wearing sunglasses. I urge people to get screened so that we can help them manage the condition or even prevent it from developing,” says Dr Brian Armstrong, an ophthalmologist at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Also: ISLAMABAD:

A Pakistani health official says authorities have launched a week-long anti-polio campaign touted as a ‘final push’ against the crippling disease.

Its aim is to vaccinate millions of children under 5 years of age.

Dr Rana Safdar, the campaign’s national coordinator, says the campaign was launched on Monday amid tight security in 89 districts and towns with a total of 110,000 health workers who will fan out to vaccinate 19.2 million children.

She says the campaign will last for four days in some areas.