This month 2 million Muslims are expected to converge on Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the HaJJ. Already there, though, is the MERS virus, prompting concerns that pilgrims risk catching and spreading the disease. MERS emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and new cases continue to be reported. Of the 1500 cases so far, three quarters have been in the country, with more than 500 deaths, including three in Riyadh last weekend. The concern is that pilgrims will pick up the coronavirus that causes the disease when they travel to Mecca, and unknowingly spread It to their country of origin. The disease has an incubation period of up to two weeks before symptoms become apparent. Earlier this year, MERS was brought to South Korea, where it infected 185 people, resulting in 36 deaths. 'The current outbreak is occurring close to the start of the Hajj, and many pilgrims will return to countries with weak surveillance and health systems," warned the World Health Organization last week.
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