It's a big enough problem that five people have already died and another seventy three cases documented. Saudi Arabian authorities are dismissing the figures as insignificant though it hardly sounds irrelevant. And as some are suggesting, we may not know the full extent of the problem until visitors return home.
Speaking on the final day of the Islamic pilgrimage, Abdullah al-Rabeeah said authorities recorded 73 cases — including the five deaths — of H1N1, commonly known as swine flu. He said only 10 percent of the some 2.5 million pilgrims were vaccinated against the virus.
"Our safety precautions have secured a very successful and safe hajj for pilgrims from around the world with no infectious disease outbreaks," al-Rabeeah said.
