The old, young and chronically sick are likely to be prevented from travelling to Saudi Arabia until further notice, reports Reem Leila In an attempt to contain the spread of swine flu, Arab health ministers agreed on 22 July to a selective ban on pilgrims to Mecca. While the hajj and omra will continue this year, people over the age of 65, under the age of 12, pregnant women and those with chronic illnesses will be excluded. While the decision to keep vulnerable groups away from the pilgrimage has yet to be ratified by governments, Hussein Gezairy, WHO director for the Eastern Mediterranean region, predicts that Riyadh will ratify the recommendations. "The Saudi government will make these conditions a requirement. No one will get a visa unless these requirements are fulfilled," he said. According to WHO figures the virus has claimed the lives of 800 people worldwide, and infected more than 130,000 in the past four months. A press release issued by WHO stated that the H1N1 swine-flu virus could infect up to two billion people over the next two years, one in three of the world's population. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health announced that 26 more cases have contracted the swine flu virus. Official spokesman at the Ministry of Health revealed that the recent cases bring up the overall number of H1N1 patients to 226. "Some 157 cases have recovered while the rest are stable but still under medical care in hospital," he added. On 26 July the Saudi Arabian Health Ministry also announced the country's first death due to swine flu. A 30-year-old man was admitted to hospital on 22 July, complaining from high temperature and difficulty in breathing. He was diagnosed with swine flu and placed on a course of Tamiflu, but his condition deteriorated. A Health Ministry statement said the patient also suffered from morbid obesity. Up to three million people are expected to travel to Mecca and Medina for omra. Saudi Health Minister Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz says the kingdom is not changing the number of visas it issues for pilgrims. "We have not altered the percentage quotas of any country. What we have changed are the requirements for a visa to be issued. It is up to individual countries to replace non- eligible applicants with those who can travel," he said, adding that there would "probably" be fewer pilgrims this year. At Cairo International Airport new procedures are in force for those travelling to perform omra rituals. International vaccination certificates are being issued only to travellers who present a health report from a government hospital certifying that they do not suffer from chronic illness. Data compiled by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) reveals that in an average year 35 per cent of Egyptian pilgrims are over 65 years of age, while children and those with chronic diseases account for a further 15 per cent. As more cases of swine flu emerge health authorities are recalibrating measures aimed at containing the virus since its appearance in Egypt on 2 June. The country's pig population has already been culled, and the People's Assembly finally passed a law regulating the transport and selling of fowl after it had remained on the back burner for two years. Fowl can now be killed only in licensed slaughterhouses. Failure to comply with the new regulations carries a fine of between LE1,000 and LE10,000, and a possible jail term of up to six months. Bird flu presents a massive challenge to the government given the uncertainty about the course of any possible merge between the H5N1 and the H1N1. The virus has become endemic and it could take years to rid the country of the most virulent strain. Shahin, pointed out, "It was very difficult to keep the pigs while we already suffer from bird flu, as it was impossible not to regulate the transport and selling of alive poultry whilst swine flu has started hitting the country hard. The existence of both in the country is fatal," stated Shahin. Though the authorities began closing down shops selling live poultry immediately after the law was passed a casual stroll through Cairo's streets provides plenty of evidence that some shops continue to operate. This hasn't prevented the retail price of fowl from skyrocketing. Chicken fillet now sells from between LE34 and LE37 a kilo, whole chickens from between LE22 and LE27. Many members of the public blame local and central government authorities for the increase in prices. "Poultry shops have not received closure orders. Nor are they inspected as happened three years ago," claims housewife Hayam Said. "The only change is that at these prices we cannot afford to buy chicken." "It is essential that district chiefs inspect poultry retail shops to check that retailers are not selling live birds," says Hamed Samaha, head of General Authority for Veterinary Services (GAVS). Giza governor Sayed Abdel-Aziz, who says that more than 300 shops had been closed in the last two months, has announced a hotline, urging members to report any shops selling live poultry to its 154 toll free number. Global efforts to find a swine flu vaccine intensified after the WHO declared the H1N1 virus a pandemic. Scientists fear it could mutate into a more deadly version in a reprise of the Spanish and Asian influenza pandemics that killed millions in 1918 and 1958. Human trials have begun on a potential serum in Australia. The United States is asking for volunteers to test two potential vaccines, and a Chinese company has announced it is ready to test another. WHO officials expect swine flu vaccines to be ready by September or October, traditionally the start of the flu season.
