Vaccination certificates shall be presented by pilgrims to Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Ministry of health said would-be pilgrims should first present vaccination certificates against meningitis, to be allowed entry into the Kingdom.

Adults and children aged over three months should present the certificates that they have been vaccinated not less than ten days earlier and no more than three years before.

Pilgrims from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali should be vaccinated in Saudi Arabia if there is any doubt about the veracity of the certificates they present, he said.

In 1996, Saudi Arabia banned pilgrims coming from these countries from performing Haj to prevent the spread of the disease.

The countries with high rates of typhus will also have to provide vaccination certificates, otherwise they will be vaccinated before entering the country and will be placed under medical supervision for six days before being allowed entry.

The Ministry also recalled that pilgrims are not allowed to bring foodstuffs into the country under any pretext.