JEDDAH – The Minister of Health has said that a total of 20 cases of swine flu have been detected in pilgrims arriving from abroad. Twelve have made full recoveries and eight continue to receive treatment in isolation.

Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeah, chairing a meeting of Haj committees in Jeddah on Thursday, said that 1,500,000 doses of vaccine were available for pilgrims at Holy Sites hospitals and that a 100-bed isolation center was open at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah.

“There are also 16,000 beds ready in Makkah and a further 2,800 at the Holy Sites zone - with 500 for emergencies - as well as 14,000 ready in Madina,” Al-Rabeah said.

Prevention of H1N1 flu, the minister said, has been a top priority for his ministry.

“The Preventive Medicine Department and the Haj Committee have assigned a special workforce of 80 intensive care and family medicine consultants and experts from the US to handle cases during Haj,” Al-Rabeah said.

The minister added that laboratories in Jeddah, Makkah, Madina and Taif had been set up to accelerate early detection. – Okaz/SG