Mecca, SAUDI ARABIA (Al Arabiya, Agencies)
Saudi Arabia said on Saturday four pilgrims had died of the new H1N1 flu virus three days before the massive annual Muslim hajj, or pilgrimage, is due to begin.
The Health Ministry said the deaths were among pilgrims who came from outside Saudi Arabia but Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Mirghalani could not be immediately reached for comment.
Some three million Muslim pilgrims take part in the hajj in the holy city of Mecca every year, including up to 2 million who travel from abroad. Hajj obligations this year start on Wednesday.
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Millions circle the Kaaba the point where Muslims the world over face when praying
Disease experts from the United States and Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, say that waves of H1N1 flu virus spread by pilgrims travelling to and from Mecca for this year's hajj threaten to put pressure on healthcare systems around the world.
The pilgrimage provides perfect conditions for the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, which is transmitted by sneezing and physical contact.
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Unfazed pilgrams
" The situation is under control and, God willing, it is very reassuring "
Health ministry spokesman Dr. Khaled Marghlani
According to a report by the French news agency AFP many of the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims already jamming Islam's holiest city are not wearing face masks and many say they are not worried despite posters in the streets, plastered on hotel facades and in their lobbies warning about A(H1N1) flu.
"People are not paying too much attention to all these posters," said Ashraf Abu Nimr, a 26-year-old Algerian from France as he left the Grand Mosque in the city center.
"Personally, I'm not worried at all," added Nimr, noting that he had received a swine flu vaccination before leaving home.
Saudi and world health authorities have been mobilizing since May for the world's largest gathering since swine flu began spreading across the globe.
Saudi health officials are relaxed as they await the peak day of the hajj on Thursday Nov. 26, when pilgrims gather at Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad gave his final sermon.
"The situation is under control and, God willing, it is very reassuring," Marghlani told AFP.
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" People are not talking about the H1N1 flu. They reserve their time for their devotions, and talk a lot about football "
Ibrahim Qanan, Palestinian pilgrim
Ibrahim Qanan, a Palestinian pilgrim, pointed to the fact that few people are wearing surgical masks in the street, even though the Saudi authorities have been distributing them to pilgrims.
"People are not talking about the H1N1 flu. They reserve their time for their devotions, and talk a lot about football," Qanan said.
Khaled, an Egyptian who lives in the holy city, said that he welcomes the pilgrims into his barber shop "without any fear of contamination."
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Precautions
" More than a million of us pray at the same time in the heart of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, and there is no sign of the disease "
Female pilgram
As of Nov. 11, 70 people had died in Saudi Arabia from the disease and more than 7,000 proven cases had been recorded.
For the hajj, thermal cameras have been installed at air and sea terminals in Jeddah where most pilgrims arrive, some 15,000 health workers are deployed, and hospitals have hundreds of extra beds to handle any rise in illness.
The ministry also has mobile units which can instantly send to a central monitoring center the locations of infections, to monitor outbreaks.
In Medina, Mecca and Jeddah, the government has also placed a number of special machines to identify the virus in suspected cases.
Pilgrims themselves seem confident that the threat is low.
"The pilgrims take care of themselves. We don't need all these facilities," said Umm Said, a woman from Mauritania.
"More than a million of us pray at the same time in the heart of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, and there is no sign of the disease," she said.
For her, the pandemic is "a lie from America, to trick people into buying the vaccine and to generate fear."
But Saleh, a Bahraini, admits he is a little nervous when he is swallowed up by the crowd.
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