Health scares two US airports linked to pilgrims arriving from a Muslim hajj in Mecca

US health officials on Friday revealed that health spikes at two US airports involving inbound flights were linked to pilgrims returning from Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims take at least once in their lives.

Health officials Wednesday sent an emergency response team to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after more than 100 Emirates passengers from Dubai have presented flu-like symptoms.

In an interview with ReutersMartin Cetron, director of the Global Migration and Quarantine Division of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that 11 of the 549 passengers assessed at the airport were sent to a local hospital for treatment. other tests.

Ten people were tested for the presence of a respiratory pathogen in order to rule out any serious infection that could pose a threat to health.

"Our most critical problem was to address several respiratory diseases important for public health," Cetron said.

Two of them were tested positive for a virulent type of influenza A. One of the two was severely infected with pneumonia and also infected with another respiratory virus. Another passenger was positive for the cold virus.

Seven flight crew members who were not on pilgrimage were tested negative for respiratory infections that could pose public health problems.

Another health problem occurred at the Philadelphia International Airport the next day. Medical teams had to screen passengers who boarded two American Airlines flights departing from Europe when 12 passengers had flu-like symptoms. One of the sick passengers visited Mecca for the Muslim pilgrimage.

Of the 11 passengers taken to hospital for assessment, 10 had respiratory symptoms and one had signs of food poisoning. The 10 patients were also tested for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, but none was positive. MERS is a highly contagious viral respiratory disease reported for the first time in Saudi Arabia in 2012

The incident resulted in a medical assessment of 250 passengers on both flights. The authorities stated that this was done as a precautionary measure.

"Although airport operations have not been affected by an abundance of caution, officials have carried out assessments and Philadelphia International Airport I said.

CDC spokesman Benjamin Haynes said the CDC and public health officials were working with emergency medical services staff and customs and border protection officials to assess sick passengers.

Twelve had coughing fits and sore throats, and one was tested positive for the flu. The CDC said that this is not unusual since the flu is a virus all year round.