No Ebola, MERS-CoV cases among Malaysian Haj pilgrims

There has been no case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Ebola infection among the Malaysian haj pilgrims this year, Tabung Haji chairman Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim said.

He said the matter was confirmed by the Saudi Arabian health authority which had carried out health screening programme on pilgrims in the Holy Land.

"Alhamdulillah (All praise be to Allah), none of our haj pilgrims are infected with MERS-Cov and Ebola so far," he told reporters after visiting the family of Salleh Mohammad Ja'afar at Kampung Abdul Rahman, Sungai Pelek, Sepang on Saturday.

Abdul Azeez, however, said certain health screening procedures would continue to be done on haj pilgrims upon their return to Malaysia.

Salleh, who was one of Malaysian haj pilgrims this year, was reported to have died of lung infection in the Holy Land on Oct 16.

He was laid to rest at the Syara'ek cemetery in Makkah.

A total of 21 Malaysian haj pilgrims died in the Holy Land during the haj season this year, the lowest number ever recorded so far.

As of yesterday, 5,398 out of 22,320 Malaysian haj pilgrims had safely returned home.