Health conditions for travellers to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

27 July 2012, vol. 87, 30 (pp 277–288)

Editorial note
This publication in the Weekly Epidemiological Record is to inform visitors of thefull requirements for entry into Saudi Arabia; it does not imply an endorsement byWHO of all measures stipulated. The Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabiahas issued the following requirements and recommendations for entry visas for theHajj and Umra seasons in 2012.

Meningococcal meningitis

(A) For all arrivals

Visitors from all over the world arriving for the purposeof Umra or pilgrimage or for seasonal work are required to produce a certificate of vaccination with thequadrivalent (ACYW135) vaccine against meningitisissued not more than 3 years previously and not lessthan 10 days before arrival in Saudi Arabia. The responsible authorities in the visitor’s country of origin shouldensure that adults and children over the age of 2 yearsare given 1 dose of the quadrivalent polysaccharide(ACYW135) vaccine.

(B) For arrivals from countries in the African meningitis belt, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad,Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia,Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria,Senegal and Sudan.

In addition to the above stated requirements, chemoprophylaxiswill be administered at port of entry to allarrivals from these countries to lower the carriers rateamong them. Adults will receive ciprofloxacin tablets(500 mg), children will receive rifampicin, and pregnant women will receive ceftriaxone injections.

(C) Interior pilgrims and the Hajj workers

Vaccination with quadrivalent (ACYW135) vaccine isrequired for:

• all citizens and residents of Medina and Mecca who have not been vaccinated during the past 3 years;
• all citizens and residents undertaking the Hajj;
• all Hajj workers who have not been vaccinated in the past 3 years;
• any individual working at entry points or in direct contact with pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Contents 277 Health conditions for travellers to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) 281 Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, June 2012

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