Hajj pilgrims’ knowledge about Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, August to September 2013

P Gautret; S Benkouiten; I Salaheddine; K Belhouchat; T Drali; P Parola; P Brouqui

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES2013.18.41.20604

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Hajj pilgrims’ knowledge about Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, August to September 2013

P Gautret^1,2, S Benkouiten^1,2, I Salaheddine², K Belhouchat², T Drali¹, P Parola^1,2, P Brouqui^1,2
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Affiliations: ¹ Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), Marseille, France ² Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection, Pole Maladies Infectieuses, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France

Correspondence:
P Gautret
philippe.gautret club-internet.fr
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Citation style for this article: Gautret P, Benkouiten S, Salaheddine I, Belhouchat K, Drali T, Parola P, Brouqui P. Hajj pilgrims’ knowledge about Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, August to September 2013 . Euro Surveill. 2013;18(41):pii=20604. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES2013.18.41.20604 Received: 30 Sep 2013

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Abstract

In preparation for Hajj 2013, 360 French pilgrims were interviewed regarding their knowledge about Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Respondents were aged 20-85 years, male-female ratio was 1.05:1; 64.7% were aware of the MERS situation in Saudi Arabia; 35.3% knew about the Saudi Ministry of Health recommendations for at-risk pilgrims to postpone participation in the 2013 Hajj. None of 179 at-risk individuals (49.9%) decided to cancel their Hajj participation even after advice during consultation. .