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Iran to ban Umrah Hajj over swine flu concerns

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  • Iran to ban Umrah Hajj over swine flu concerns



    Iran's health ministry is to ban Umrah Hajj pilgrimage due to the increasing number of Iranian pilgrims infected with the A/H1N1 virus.

    The Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education announced that Hajj pilgrimage would be canceled in the holy month of Ramadan to avoid more infections and reduce the risk of catching swine flu.

    Considering the growing number of infected cases in Saudi Arabia, certain clerics have warned individuals from attending this year's Hajj, saying those at high-risk of the disease can cancel their trip to Saudi Arabia.

    Iranian health officials are planning to establish a checkup system for pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabi. The country's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization will also take special measures for the matter.

    Some 85 confirmed swine flu cases have been reported in Iran, most of whom were among pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia. Travelers returning from Karbala, Syria, Turkey, Thailand, Singapore and England comprise the rest of the cases.

    Iran's health ministry has also reported the country's first domestic cases, saying that some family members had contracted the disease from the infected cases who recently returned to the country.

    Officials urge individuals to follow precautionary measures in order to tackle the spread of the virus in the country. They also recommend individuals to cancel unnecessary trips particularly those to the hot zones of the disease.

  • #2
    Re: Iran to ban Umrah Hajj over swine flu concerns

    Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/healt...090806?sp=true

    Iran bans Ramadan umra pilgrimage as swine flu spreads
    Thu Aug 6, 2009 9:00am EDT


    TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has banned Iranians from performing the umra pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia during the holy month of Ramadan to slow spread of swine flu in the country, a health ministry official said Thursday.

    The umra can be performed at any time but is popular during Ramadan, which this year starts in August.

    "Iranians are banned from attending the holy places in Saudi Arabia during fasting month of Ramadan," deputy Health Minister Hassan Emami-Razavi told state television.

    The H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, emerged in April in the United States and Mexico, and has spread internationally. The number of Iranians infected with the virus topped 144 since late June.

    "Three persons per day on average are identified as infected by the disease," another health ministry official was quoted by the Ebtekar newspaper as saying.

    Iranian media reported Wednesday the first death from the H1N1 flu in the southern Island of Qeshm. The report was immediately denied by the authorities.

    "The H1N1 has claimed no life in Iran yet," Health Minister Kamran Baqeri-Lankarani told state television.

    Around 3 million Muslim pilgrims from over 160 countries head for the holy city of Mecca in western Saudi Arabia each year in one of the world's biggest religious gatherings.

    The main hajj pilgrimage will this year take place in November. Saudi Arabia in June called on elderly, ill and other unfit Muslims to postpone pilgrimages to Mecca.

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