Fears of an outbreak of the deadly MERS virus in Saudi Arabia and construction in the holy city of Mecca have forced cuts in the numbers of pilgrims permitted to perform this year's hajj.
Millions of Muslims during the annual pilgrimage head to Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest sites, providing a possible means for MERS to spread around the globe as pilgrims who may become infected return to their home countries.
Fearful of such a scenario, the authorities have reduced by half the number of pilgrims coming from within Saudi Arabia, and by about 20 percent those from abroad.
"This is an exceptional and temporary decision," Hajj Minister Bandar Hajjar announced last month.
MERS, short for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus which can lead to acute pneumonis and renal failure, claimed its first victim in Saudi Arabia in June 2012.
Saudi Arabia, which has already recorded 69 MERS cases, 38 of whom have died, has urged the elderly and chronically ill, as well as children and pregnant women, not to perform the annual hajj that falls this year in October.
But the health ministry so far has not taken any special measures at airports to detect visitors who may be infected with MERS, deputy health minister Ziad Memish told AFP.
"We have not taken any precautionary measures at airports since the World Health Organisation has not recommended them," he said.
WHO health security chief Keiji Fukuda said the organisation would issue general guidelines aimed at minimising the risk of infections spreading.
"We do recognise that this is a risk for travellers and that there are certain steps that individual travellers and countries can take, for example for people who have serious medical conditions," Fukuda told reporters.
Since then, a total of 90 cases and 45 confirmed MERS deaths have been recorded worldwide, in countries including Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Britain, France and Italy.
But most cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia.
Experts are struggling to understand MERS, for which there is no vaccine.
MERS does not appear to spread easily but currently has an extremely high fatality rate of 55 percent. It is a cousin of SARS, which erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.
Like SARS, MERS is thought to have jumped from animals to humans, and shares the former's flu-like symptoms -- but differs by causing kidney failure.
The 2012 hajj drew 3.1 million people -- and this year's event likewise occurs in October, as the northern hemisphere slides into the season for coughs and sneezes.
-- 'We have to be worried' --
So far, MERS has essentially been found in nations with health services capable of tracing and tackling such diseases. But the hajj draws a broad spectrum of Muslims, including from poor countries which struggle to cope even with commonplace diseases.
The hajj has successfully ridden out two previous viral episodes in the past decade -- SARS in 2003 and H1N1 influenza in 2009.
The difference this time is that Saudi Arabia itself is the apparent incubator of MERS.
Leading virologist Laurent Kaiser of Geneva University Hospitals told AFP: "It's really a balance between too much precaution and no precaution. At this time, we have to be worried, we have to be careful."
So far no outbreaks of the virus have been reported in Mecca where millions of Muslim faithful have for months been performing the minor pilgrimage umrah that takes place all year round.
"Their numbers have reached five million since the beginning of the umrah season" 10 months ago, Mecca governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal said on Sunday.
"There are currently 400,000 pilgrims" in the kingdom's holiest shrines Mecca and Medina, Faisal added.
Aside from the virus fears, Saudi authorities have also cited construction work to expand the Grand Mosque in Mecca as reason to keep down the number of pilgrims being allowed to perform this year's hajj.
Hajjar said the expansion work would increase the area of the mosque by 400,000 square metres (4.3 million square feet), raising its capacity to accommodate 2.2 million people at the same time.
The mosque houses the Kaaba -- the cube-shaped structure towards which Muslims worldwide pray.
Hajj officials have also reported a decrease in the numbers of pilgrims performing umrah during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan that began on July 10, compared with past years, due to the expansion work.
"Companies here have received permits for 500,000 pilgrims from all over the world for Ramadan, while this number was one million last year," a board member of the Mecca Chamber of Commerce, Saad al-Qurashi, told AFP.
AFP
Thu Jul 25 2013
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Calon PN harap tiada lagi serangan peribadi
Khairul Azhari Saut berharap tiada lagi isu peribadi yang akan dijadikan 'peluru' untuk menyerangnya sepanjang kempen.
Kelantan: 70 peratus kemalangan maut babit penunggang, pembonceng motosikal
70 peratus kes kemalangan maut yang dicatat berlaku dari 1 hingga 26 April di Kelantan, membabitkan penunggang dan pembonceng motosikal.
[TERKINI] WEF | Pembangunan dunia yang tidak seimbang, Apa Solusi?
Mesyuarat Khas Forum Ekonomi Dunia (WEF) di Arab Saudi merungkai masalah ekonomi dan ketidakseimbangan pembangunan yang sedang melanda dunia. Menteri MITI, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz dan Menteri Kewangan Arab Saudi, Mohammed Al-Jadaan berada sepentas merungkai masalah dunia yang memberi impak kepada semua negara.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Calon PH, PN bertembung ketika kempen
Dua calon yang bersaing bagi PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu hari ini bertembung buat kali pertama sejak hari penamaan calon semalam.
AWANI Ringkas: 1MDB - Polis Jerman rampas 4 kereta Bugatti Veyron edisi terhad
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Gempa bumi Indonesia, Tasikmalaya paling terjejas
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang cedera dan 27 keluarga lagi terkesan selepas satu gempa bumi dengan magnitud 6.2 melanda Daerah Garut di Jawa Barat pada pukul 11.29 pagi waktu tempatan, Ahad.
Air penstabil dan pemangkin pembangunan negara - Fadillah Yusof
Air merupakan komponen penting yang bertindak sebagai penstabil dan pemangkin untuk pembangunan negara yang mampan.
Pelaburan RM2.4 bilion dibawa masuk ke Terengganu - MB
Sebanyak RM2.4 bilion nilai pelaburan yang berpotensi sedang dibawa masuk ke Terengganu setakat bulan April ini.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Kelayakan akademik bukan isu calon PN - Pas
Kempen PN sempena PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu tidak akan terjejas berikutan isu yang mengaitkan kelayakan akademik calonnya, Khairul Azhari Saut.
Peniaga nasi kukus raih jualan RM14,000 sebulan
Inisiatif Pendapatan Rakyat (IPR) mampu merubah graf pendapatan bulanan peserta apabila meningkatkan hasil jualan.
Lima jenazah jemaah Malaysia selamat dikebumikan di Tanah Haram
Tabung Haji menerusi kerjasama dengan Muassasah Asia Tenggara masih berusaha mengesan dua lagi jemaah haji Malaysia yang masih hilang.
Mangsa kren jatuh di Masjidil Haram masih trauma
Kalangan mangsa yang terselamat dalam tragedi kren jatuh di Masjid al-Haram, pada Jumaat lalu, ada yang masih lagi trauma serta terkejut dengan kejadian berkenaan.
Tragedi Mekah: Korban kelima dikenalpasti sebagai Zainun Taha
Tabung Haji mengesahkan seorang lagi jemaah haji Malaysia telah dikenalpasti hari ini menjadi korban dalam tragedi kren runtuh di Masjid al-Haram Jumaat lalu.
Tragedi kren Masjidilharam: 8 jemaah masih gagal dikesan, pencarian dipergiat
Sehingga 5 pagi waktu Malaysia, lapan jemaah haji Malaysia masih gagal dikesan oleh pihak pengurusan Tabung Haji (TH).
Tragedi kren tumbang jadi fokus dada akhbar pada Ahad
Antara isu yang menjadi fokus adalah perkongsian pengalaman mangsa dan juga saksi yang melihat sendiri punca serta bagaimana nahas itu berlaku.
Tragedi kren Masjidilharam: Mengejutkan dan ada jemaah yang panik - Wartawan
Rata-rata jemaah yang sedang menunaikan ibadah Haji di Mekah menganggap tragedi itu sebagai ujian daripada Allah SWT.
Tragedi Mekah: Kerajaan akan beri bantuan segera kepada jemaah yang cedera - Najib
Kejadian dipercayai berlaku semasa hujan lebat kira-kira 4.30 petang, waktu tempatan, ketika umat Islam selesai menunaikan solat Asar.
Sekurang-kurangnya 87 jemaah terkorban dalam kejadian kren tumbang di Masjidil Haram
Seorang jemaah haji lelaki Malaysia dilaporkan patah kaki, manakala lima lagi cedera ringan dalam kejadian kren tumbang.