UAE Haj pilgrims safe and well, official says
Cases reported were of common diseases
Makkah: All UAE pilgrims in the holy lands are well and safe and no serious diseases have been detected among them so far, Dr Abdul Karim Al Zarouni, Head of the Medical Committee of the UAE's Official Haj Mission, has affirmed.
"All cases that frequented the health clinics associated with the missions or the Haj contractors...were of diseases that are common during the Haj season," he said. "The 55-member medical committee is closely monitoring the health condition of the UAE pilgrims, according to a plan specially designed for that purpose. We have assigned ten hotline numbers and an e-mail address ...to receive reports and answer health enquiries from pilgrims," he added.
"We are fully ready to offer any medical assistance to any Haj operator through our mobile medical teams who can handle cases, which operators' clinics could not treat, on the spot," he added.
He explained that the committee was regularly coordinating with the hospitals in Saudi with regard to critical cases that require further medical care.
Talking about the inventory of medicines, Zarouni said: "We have a strategic stockpile of medicines that cure chronic diseases like blood pressure, diabetes, cardiac disorders, asthma and others diseases. We also have antibiotics and anti-viral drugs including those treating the H1N1 flu."
