Health officials want to cancel hajj for Iranians due to swine flu

TEHRAN, Nov. 7 (Mehr News Agency) -- The Health Ministry and the Majlis Health Committee are seriously opposed to allowing Iranians to go on hajj this year due to the swine flu epidemic, MP Mohammad-Reza Rezaii-Kouchi said on Saturday.

However, the Health Ministry and lawmakers have no jurisdiction over the issue and other officials must decide about whether to cancel Hajj 2009 for Iranians, Rezaii-Kouchi stated.

But the Health Ministry will not allow people over the age of 60, young children, and pregnant women to go on hajj this year, he added.

The hajj season for lunar year 1430 will occur from November 19 to 28, 2009, depending on the sighting of the new moon marking the beginning of the lunar month of Dh’ul Hijjah. The pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rezaii-Kouchi criticized the Health Ministry for reporting imprecise statistics, saying the health minister had said 50 percent of the people who go on hajj would become infected with the swine flu virus while the deputy health minister said 80 percent would become infected.

The health minister has also announced that swine flu has claimed the lives of 28 of the 250,000 people who have become infected with the disease in Iran, he added.

2009 H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)
Centers For Disease Control & Prevention

What are “emergency warning signs” that should signal anyone to seek medical care urgently?

In children:

Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Not waking up or not interacting
Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
Fever with a rash

In adults:

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting