Dubai: With the ongoing Haj season, pilgrims are cautioned to take adequate precautions against a variety of lung and other infectious diseases that can be easily prevented with a proper vaccination protocol.

Dr Ashraf Al Houfi, Consultant, ICU, Dubai Hospital, Head of Infection Control Office, told Gulf News: “In the Arabian Gulf, significant risk factors for pneumococcal disease (PD) is high during Haj when over two million pilgrims from 183 countries gather in Makkah. During this period, pneumococcal disease accounts for close to one-third of the hospitalisations in Saudi Arabia. The incidence rate of PD in Saudi Arabia is estimated to be 17.4 per cent per 100,000 of the population, with a fatality ratio of 12.20 per cent.”

Dr Mohammad Rafique, Specialist Respiratory Medicine and Assistant Medical Director and Head of Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, Prime Hospital, elaborated on all the diseases included under the umbrella of pneumococcal diseases. “Under the PD umbrella we include all serious illnesses caused by the bacterium Streptococcus Pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae), including pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis. Pneumonia is a medical term for all lung infections. It can be a serious threat when individuals carry S. pneumoniae in their nasal passages, potentially exposing others to the risk of developing the disease through close contact via respiratory droplets that are sneezed, coughed, or exhaled. “According to statistics available, pneumonia is a major threat to health in Haj. It accounts for 39 per cent of all hospital admissions during Haj and is the second leading cause of hospital admissions. Those at high risk of contracting PD are children below the age of two, adults above 65 years of age and those who have a history of cigarette smoking and lifestyle diseases like diabetes where the immunity is already lowered.”

Usually, during mass gatherings, people’s immunity is lowered due to overcrowding, exhaustion and malnutrition so it is easy for people to catch serious diseases. It might start with a common cold, seasonal flu, bronchitis transmitted through droplets of saliva from coughing, sneezing or talking and rapidly spiral into serious diseases like pneumonia, meningitis, respiratory tract infections, tuberculosis, and viral infections, among others.

The good news is that a majority of these diseases can be easily prevented through timely vaccination which is available at all primary health care Centres, in private and government hospitals.

Besides vaccinations, Haj travellers are also cautioned to maintain high standards of personal hygiene before and during the pilgrimage which plays an important preventive role.

Despite all the precautions many do come down with PDs and doctors advise early intervention for a rapid medical response to control the infection.