Braving Flu Threat, Muslim Faithful Descend On Mecca

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: Braving the swine flu pandemic, more than 2.5 million Muslim faithful are descending on the holy cities of Mecca and Medina this week for the hajj.

Under heightened monitoring by some 20,000 medical staff and more than 100,000 security personnel, the world's largest annual pilgrimage will kick off on Wednesday in western Saudi Arabia.

Four deaths from the A(H1N1) virus announced on Saturday - the first among pilgrims - served as a warning to the faithful who have mostly eschewed surgical masks and other preventive measures.

But the number was less than had been feared by the Saudi authorities.

Pilgrims from all over the world have poured into Saudi Arabia, by plane, bus and boat since October, for what for many is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Among the other concerns, Saudi officials are hoping also that repeated deadly stampedes - the last in 2006 left 364 dead - are a thing of the past.

Builders just completed a massive five-storey pedestrian walkway for the most crowded stage of the hajj - the stoning of the devil at the Jamarat in Mina valley - designed to avoid the panics of the past.

The 950 metre long, 80 metre wide bridge cost US$1.2 billion.

Swine flu has been a major concern since it reached pandemic level earlier this year.

By Saturday, only 20 pilgrims had been diagnosed with the disease. Twelve had been treated and discharged, four died and four remained in hospital.

Health ministry spokesman Dr. Khaled Marghlani said the four dead - three 75-year-olds and a teenage Nigerian girl - all had health problems ranging from chest infection to cancer that made them highly vulnerable.

"They all had pre-existing conditions," Marghlani told AFP. More Readhttp://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1019937/1/.html

Braving Flu Threat, Muslim Faithful Descend On Mecca