Department of Health issued health requirements that must be met for Umrah performers and Hajj this year 1431, the ministry has informed the dissemination of those requirements to the embassies of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and representative offices abroad to work under it when granting visas for Umrah and Hajj this year.
That was explained by the official spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammed Marghalani, The ministry follows the epidemiological disease first hand and will inform all parties of any amendment of such requirements, indicating that the requirement s of health this year focuses on several topics which are yellow fever, meningococcal meningitis, Poliomyelitis , vaccination against seasonal H1N1 virus .
Dr. Mirghalani said that the requirements stated that the infected countries with yellow fever are: Angola - Benin - Sudan - Senegal - Burkina Faso - African Republic, the center Z - Cameroon - Burundi - Chad - Uganda - Congo - Côte d'Ivoire - Sierra Leone - Somalia - traces Ljubija - Congo Aldemaqrat Yeh - Gabon - Gambia - Ghana - Guinea - Equatorial Guinea - Guinea Bissau - Togo - Kenya - Liberia - Sutomi and Principe - Mauritania - Niger - Nigeria - Rwanda - Tanzania - Mali - Ecuador - French Guiana - Guyana - Brazil - Bolivia - Suriname - Peru - Panama - Trinidad and Tobago - Venezuela - Colombia - Argentina – Paraguay. He noted that it requires of the comers from countries that are affected by yellow fever to provide a certificate of vaccination that are valid against the disease according to the International Health Regulations stating vaccinated against the disease before the arrival to the Kingdom of the duration of not less than 10 days nor more than 10 years, and It is required of the plains, ships and transport coming from different countries that has been declared yellow fever infected a valid certificate stating extermination of insects (meningococcal meningitis) on board. Regarding to Marghalani the requirements are stressed to the people that are coming for Hajj and Umrah from outside the Kingdom, and that the quadrivalent vaccine (ACYW135) is a prerequisite for the granting of visas for Hajj and Umrah in 1431. The country that does not commit to the requirments will bear all the responsibilities arising therefrom. For those coming from countries of Africa (Sudan - Mali - Burkina Faso - Guinea - Guinea Bissau - Nigeria - Athubia - Ivory Coast - Niger - Benin - Cameroon - Chad - Eritrea - Gambia - Senegal - Africa center ), it is requiered of them ,in addition to the vaccine in their countries, that the quartets at Saudi health outlets would give the arrivals from these countries Prophylactic doses that include a single dose of only 500 mg of ciprofloxacin to reduce the rate of microbe carring likely among them.
Moreover Dr. Mirghalani said that the confirmed Stipulations on Poliomyelitis that the embassies of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques are in: Uganda - Kenya - Benin - Angola - Togo - Niger - Burkina Faso - Mali - African Republic - Chad - Cote d'Dfoar - Republic of the Congo the Demoqurat - Sudan - Senegal - Mauritania - Sierra Leone - Guinea - Liberia - Cameroon - Burundi - Tajixtan and Uzbekistan to vaccine the children less than (15) years old oral poliomyelitis vaccine (Oral Polio Vaccine) before the arrival of the Kingdom of six weeks and provide a certificate to prove it ,and they will be given another dose of oral polio vaccine upon arrival to the Kingdom. Mirghalani has clarified, that the ministry recommends that all comers to Hajj or Umrah to vaccine of, seasonal H1N1, especially people with chronic illnesses (heart disease, kidney disease, respiratory diseases, neurology, diabetes) and patients with immune deficiency congenital and acquired diseases Alastqlabiep, pregnant women, people with obesity.
Dr. Marghalani explained that the ministry banned in the requirement the entry of food that are attended by the commers to the Kingdom, including the pilgrim or pilgrims in their luggage, which were not packaged and sealed or in containers easy to open for inspection, and in quantities sufficient coming overland for a distance only. Pointing out that the Scientific Committee's intention of Infectious Diseases recommended the importance of giving the meningococcal meningitis vaccine as an essential condition for those who wish to perform Hajj pilgrims from the inside. He stressed that in the case of health emergency seen as an international concern or outbreaks of diseases subjected to the International Health Regulations in any of the countries coming from the pilgrims, or omrah, the health othoreties in the Kingdom may take any additional precautions actions against the commers from these countries (it was not included within requirements mentioned above) in coordination with the World Health Organization in a timely manner in order to avoid the spread of infection among the pilgrims and Umrah, or transporting it to their countries.