Saudi Health Officials Brace for Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca

"Saudi Arabian health officials are bracing for the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca expected to draw more than 2 million Muslims from around the world.

This year's pilgrimage, set to begin Oct. 24, will come one month after the discovery of a SARS-like virus linked to the death of a Saudi man earlier this year. Another man, who is from Qatar but had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia, is in critical condition with the same infection."
abcnews.go.com...-qR

"Last week's discovery of a new virus from the same family as SARS has prompted concern and fear among the medical community, but according to new research compiled by the World Health Organization, there is no evidence to suggest the virus spreads easily between people.

The virus has so far only infected two people, one in Saudi Arabi who died from the virus and another in Qatar, who is critically ill and being treated in London.

The WHO said on Saturday that only those who are very ill in hospital with a respiratory infection, have been in Qatar or Saudi Arabia and test negative for common forms of pneumonia and infections, should be tested for the new virus.

The virus is from a family called coronaviruses, which also includes viruses that cause the common cold and SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which emerged in China in 2002 and killed around a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide..."
www.israelnationalnews.com...-qQ

Perhaps it would be helpful to detail what you think about this situation.

Since you didn't really let us know, here's what I think: SARS in a desert region sounds suspicious to me. The reason is because SARS is thought to have originated from Asian bats, which is a very tropical environment, with more bugs, and therefore, more bats.

Bats are not rare in the middle east, but they're not exactly common either. Bats need to eat insects that fly. For instance, I live in a high desert region. There are bats here, but just not a whole bunch of them. I think I've seen one bat in two years, and that's because my cat caught it and dragged it inside.

Here's my point: A coronavirus that originated from bats, suddenly appearing in the middle east, is suspicious to me. Because I am one of "those" people, I'm more likely to believe that the SARS virus would have to be imported and spread among the general population. The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca would be a perfect launching point for such an operation.

Just like the West Nile virus was spread to North America on purpose, I believe that the SARS issue over in the ME is most likely imported on purpose.

However, it is hard to believe anything in the news these days. I doubt the fear of disease would dissuade pilgrims. They have been making this pilgrimage for a hundreds of years, and no doubt believe that making this journey is more important to their immortal soul, than any reported, perceived threat.