Author/Authors :
Al-Tawfiq, J.A. Saudi Aramco Medical Services Organization, Saudi Arabia , Smallwood, C.A.H. World Health Organization - Alert and Response Operations, Global Capacities, Alert and Response, Switzerland , Arbuthnott, K.G. World Health Organization - Alert and Response Operations, Global Capacities, Alert and Response, Switzerland , Malik, M.S.K. World Health Organization - Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean - Pandemic and Epidemic Disease, Egypt , Barbeschi, M. World Health Organization - Alert and Response Operations, Global Capacities, Alert and Response, Switzerland , Memish, Z.A. Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia , Memish, Z.A. Al Faisal University - College of Medicine, Saudi Arabia
Abstract :
Mass gatherings are attended by an increasingly global audience and thus raise the concern of possible acute public health risks not normally encountered by the host population. The potential acute risks to individual and population health include communicable diseases. The communicable disease risks include emerging and re-emerging diseases in host and visiting populations. In this review, we provide an overview of the literature on respiratory infections at mass gatherings, then describe the impact of novel coronavirus 2012 (nCoV), an emerging respiratory disease virus, on the preparations for mass gathering. Although, nCoV emerged prior to the 2012 Hajj pilgrimage season, Muslims completed their religious duty without acquiring infections by nCoV. Clearly, the global nature of mass gatherings and their potential risks to international health make it imperative that research on such events and guidelines produced for their management are relevant to diverse contexts and are a collaborative effort between global experts.
