Saudi Arabia to benefit from experience in dealing with the risks of mass gatherings

[So they detected 73 cases of bird flu in 2009...]

London 0.25 / January / 2012

Excerpt:
A mass gatherings large in the world, both religious trips, such as annual Hajj to Saudi Arabia or a pilgrimage Kumbh miles huge in India or sporting events, big like the Olympics and World Cup football, the challenges of serious health for the organizers and participants alike.
-snip-
In addition, using the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also new techniques to ensure the health of the pilgrims. He pointed to respond Kerman Khan Saudi Arabia in 2009, when the annual pilgrimage coincides with the outbreak of bird flu and the HP though. After realizing that Saudi officials that the reports traditional paper may not be the speed to allow tracking the outbreak, have set up a reporting system based on mobile phone and works from which investigators Field equipped phones smart and computers mounted to the notice of emergency operations center of any injury to one of nine infectious diseases on the spot. Among the cases in which they are reporting two cases of dengue fever and 73 cases of bird flu.

Centre of expertise

The Saudis are now planning to create a leading center of expertise in the field of medicine mass gatherings. In a statement to IRIN (IRIN), said Ziad Mmich, from the Directorate of Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia, that "it is hard to say that this is the first center of its kind, but we know through our hosting of the largest conference held on the mass gatherings that There is a feeling among experts from all over the world need to establish such a center, and that Saudi Arabia would be the perfect place to host it. has therefore been assigned to the Saudi Center for Health Specialties developed a course for a diploma in the field of medicine mass gatherings and disasters. and will be held this session this year in Jeddah, which will create a good nucleus for the establishment of specialization and training of people in this area. "

And will participate in the first course, which will extend over one year, 25 students, all of the doctors or paramedics working in the main centers of pilgrimage cities of Mecca and Medina. But Mmich said that the goal is to develop an international center that trains students from all over the world.

It seems that the authors of the journal Allanst clearly excited about the potential use of new technology tools in the field of medicine mass gatherings. The unwillingness of national governments, often for the recognition of outbreaks of infectious diseases a permanent problems.The service allows the Internet to organizations such as Health MAP to take advantage of a wide range of informal sources, including referrals on Twitter to track outbreaks of disease among humans and animals.

At a time when preparations go ahead in London hosting the Olympic Games next summer, the British Health Protection Agency has already consulted Saudi authorities. The Mmich "They called us on the organization of some joint training activities as part of the preparation for the Olympic Games. And you should know clearly that the Olympic Games and the Hajj are Falitan very different and Tgzban types are very different people, but to communicate and share experiences with others is always good."

eb / cb-hk / ais / amz

[Special thanks to the UAE to help fund service IRIN in Arabic]