Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Communicable Disease Control/methods , Communicable Diseases, Imported , Crowding , Religious Missions/trends , Travel/trends , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19/transmission , Communicable Diseases, Imported/epidemiology , Communicable Diseases, Imported/prevention & control , Communicable Diseases, Imported/transmission , Global Health/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Risk Assessment , SARS-CoV-2 , Saudi Arabia/epidemiology , Travel Medicine/methodsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: During the 2019 Hajj, the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia implemented for the first time a health early warning system for rapid detection and response to health threats. AIMS: This study aimed to describe the early warning findings at the Hajj to highlight the pattern of health risks and the potential benefits of the disease surveillance system. METHODS: Using syndromic surveillance and event-based surveillance data, the health early warning system generated automated alarms for public health events, triggered alerts for rapid epidemiological investigations and facilitated the monitoring of health events. RESULTS: During the deployment period (4 July-31 August 2019), a total of 121 automated alarms were generated, of which 2 events (heat-related illnesses and injuries/trauma) were confirmed by the response teams. CONCLUSION: The surveillance system potentially improved the timeliness and situational awareness for health events, including non-infectious threats. In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, a health early warning system could enhance case detection and facilitate monitoring of the disease geographical spread and the effectiveness of control measures.