Skip The Haj, MoH Advises Cronically Ill Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 August 2009 06:33 Written by Rachel Thien Wednesday, 26 August 2009 05:55 Bandar Seri Begawan - The Ministry of Health yesterday advised people suffering from chronic ailments to avoid going for the Haj this year in the wake of the Influenza A (HON) pandemic. In a press release issued based on the questions posed by the public and answered by doctors of the RIPAS H1N1 Committee, the ministry said performing the Haj involved a lot of physical challenges which could ultimately weaken the immune system even of a fit and healthy person, making him or her more prone to the H1N1 infection. It said that the reality was that the H1N1 pandemic posed a real danger to pilgrims. That is why the ministry has taken a decision to restrict people with high risk factors from going on the Haj. To whether there was a good medical reason why some members of a family, friends and relatives were not allowed to go on the Haj this year, the ministry responded by saying that evidence had shown that many people who returned from the Haj in the past confirmed that they had caught some kind of respiratory infection. "From what we know so far, evidence shows that between 50 per cent (and) 80 per cent of patients requiring hospital treatment and sometimes intensive care treatment were those who were in a vulnerable group such as pregnant women, children, the elderly and those with chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes and epilepsy," said the ministry. As for children, the ministry stressed that as those under 12 fell into a high-risk group if they contracted H1N1, they should not be allowed to go. Meanwhile, in a response to a question by a patient who had a kidney transplant operation asking for reasons why he was told he could not go on the Haj, the ministry said that people with kidney (renal) transplants who were usually on special medications, suppressed their immune system. "This is the reason why they are at high risk of getting infection especially from H1N1, and therefore it is better for them to delay going until perhaps we (the ministry) have an effective vaccine against this H1N1 virus which can help to protect them," said the ministry. A patient with an asthma condition who has used an inhaler from time to time asked whether he faced a risk in going on the Haj. The ministry responded by saying that regardless of a patient being asthmatic, adults and children with asthma were no more likely to contract H1N1 than the rest of the population. "However, if they do get the virus, they could become critical if their condition was not well-managed. The infection will trigger an asthmatic attack which can be very serious," said the ministry. In addition, the ministry stated that during the outbreak of H1N1 in New York City, 41 per cent of patients who needed admission to hospitals were patients with asthma, and that a significant number of those died from H1N1. The ministry said: "This is the group that needs to be monitored closely since they fall into the high risk group and should therefore delay going for Haj this year until we have an effective vaccine against H1N1." A concerned patient asked the ministry why he was told not to go on the Haj on the grounds of his epilepsy condition, saying that although he had seizures approximately once a year, he was told by his specialist neurologist that he was fit to go if he took his medications on time and had enough rest. In response, the ministry said that the Haj was both physically and mentally challenging even under normal circumstances. The ministry advised patients suffering from epilepsy not to go on the Haj this year as the aforementioned additional challenges could cause even more seizures. "This year, the situation for epileptics has been made even harder with the H1N1 pandemic. There is a real danger for epileptics who catch HIN1 because fever can make seizures much worse," said the ministry. The ministry added that people with epilepsy were not allowed to go to this year's Haj because it could be "life-threatening". "If this (fever) were to happen when your body is tired and (is) already prone to increasing seizures, this could really be life-threatening," said the ministry. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times
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