The number of swine flu cases in Saudi Arabia jumped to 106 on Friday as neighbouring countries stepped up immigration security over fears of a mass outbreak when millions of Muslims gather during Umrah and Haj.
The Health Ministry said eight more people tested positive for the potentially deadly A(H1N1) virus, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, without giving any further details.
The sharp increase in the number of cases since the virus was first detected on June 3 has raised concerns over the threat of an outbreak during the pilgrimage season, which runs from August to December.
The Umrah - minor pilgrimage - season picks up in late August, during the fasting month of Ramadan, followed by the Haj - the fifth pillar of Islam - in late November.
Airport officials in Bahrain said in remarks published Saturday that extra staff are being hired and stricter measures to screen passengers put in place to deal with people returning from pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
"We are concerned at the emerging scenario and are planning some measures. We will reveal them as we near the pilgrimage dates,” Bahrain International Airport Director Mohammed Tamer al-Kaabi told the local Gulf Daily News.
Egyptian health officials have already said all returning pilgrims will be quarantined after the country last month confirmed the first swine flu case in an Egyptian returning from Saudi Arabia after performing pilgrimage.
With the rapid global spread of swine flu, which has now infected 89,921 people in 125 countries and territories and caused 382 deaths.
All eyes are on Saudi Arabia to make sure the conservative Muslim country has adequate measures in place for when more than 2 million pilgrims descend on the holy cities of Mecca and Medina later this year.
If there is an outbreak the consequences could be dire.
Saudi Arabia last week warned elderly Muslims and pregnant women against performing Haj this year due to the threat of swine flu.
Experts from the United Nations and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been to Saudi to assess the kingdom’s plans to prevent the spread of A(H1N1).
The World Health Organization (WHO) has backed the plans, describing them as “comprehensive, methodical and transparent”, Saudi daily Arab News reported on Saturday.
Across the Middle East the number of swine flu cases has risen to 892, according to the latest WHO figures updated on July 3 at 0900 GMT.
Israel is the worst hit with 577 cases, followed by Saudi Arabia (89), Egypt (67), Lebanon (47) and Kuwait (35), the figures show.
Jordan has 22 cases, Bahrain 15, Iraq 11, Qatar 10, the UAE eight, Yemen seven, Oman three, and Iran one. Syria has not reported any cases of A(H1N1), according to the figures.
Since the last WHO update, the UAE Health Ministry has announced new cases of swine flu, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 14, according to state news agency WAM.
As has Syria, on Saturday confirming its first case of swine flu in a woman who arrived from Australia.
"The disease was detected on Friday in a 35-year-old woman who arrived in Syria on June 30 from Australia," Health Minister Rida Saeed told the news agency AFP.