JEDDAH: The Global Forum on Mass Gathering Medicine entered Sunday its second day of lectures and discussions on “Communicable Diseases during Mass Gatherings”, with officials addressing the challenges of huge human congregations such as the Haj pilgrimage. Dr. Ali Khan, an American health official, cited the Haj season as an example of the challenges presented in preventing the spread of illness and disease. “The easiest ways for diseases to spread through any mass gathering are via water contamination and food and respiratory infection,” Khan said. “These diseases may appear for the first time, and are complicated by the fact that they may be resistant to the currently available antibiotics and vaccines.” Public cleanliness, of both people and places, he said, was of paramount importance. “Otherwise, viruses will find places to proliferate and spread, especially in stagnant water which is conducive to insects and rodents.” International cooperation, Dr. Khan said, was “essential in spreading health awareness”. Dr. Ibrahim Abubakr, a consultant epidemiologist and head of the tuberculosis section at the London-based UK Health Protection Agency Center for Infections, spoke of the threat of tuberculosis. “Tuberculosis is a global disease that is exacerbated in countries where health services are poor,” he said. “The disease can spread in the air and attack people whose immune systems are deficient.” According to Abubakr, nearly 34 percent of the global population suffers from tuberculosis. “The disease leads to many fatalities and always appears in crowded, deprived areas,” he said. South Africa's staging of the 2010 World Cup was also given special mention at the Forum. Speaker Dr. Stella Anyangwe, a Cameroonian epidemiologist and World Health Organization representative to South Africa, described the extensive preparations for the event that attracted about 500,000 visitors from across the world, including the pre-tournament presence of expert teams sent by WHO and World Cup organizer FIFA, to inspect the sports facilities. FIFA also provided South Africa with hundreds of thousands of information brochures on tuberculosis, a problem of significant proportions in South Africa. South Africa faced other health concerns during the tournament, and had feared a major health crisis if H1N1 had spread during the month of matches. The South African Ministry of Health secured 1.3 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine and the World Health Organization provided 3.5 million other vaccines. Arab center to quash rumors Saima Bahooth, assistant secretary general of the Arab League, proposed the establishment of an “Arab International Media Center”, working with health ministries in the Arab world, to counter rumor-based panic. She also recommended that health awareness be entered into school curricula. “I believe that a media center could help put an end to health-related rumors that cause unfounded fears,” she said. “The media center could also function as a source of accurate health information,” she said. Bahooth praised the Saudi media for its work during the 2009 Haj pilgrimage and described the media generally as using an “unprecedented strategy to address H1N1 rumors”. Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, gave Bahooth's proposals for a media center his full backing. “We realize that health awareness is of great significance to the public,” Khoja said. “All global health organizations should support the proposal.” The Forum also expressed support for King Abdullah's call for a “new medical field of study” addressing mass human gatherings. With its substantial experience in the field, participants saw in the Kingdom the ideal location for a training center for the medicine of mass gatherings. “The Kingdom is one of the most important countries in terms of managing mass gatherings,” said Fuad Al-Farsy, Minister of Haj, in reference to the over two million pilgrims that gather annually for the Haj pilgrimage. “This rarely happens anywhere else in the world.” Monday is the final day of the unique gathering in Jeddah, with the announcement of a series of recommendations expected at the Forum's conclusion.
