TEHRAN, Aug 15, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Swine flu concerns have prompted
Iranian officials to ban young children and the elderly from this year's Hajj,
or pilgrimage to Mecca, medics say.
Mohammad Saaz, director of a pilgrimage medical center at the Iranian Red
Crescent, told the Kuwait news agency KUNA Saturday that children under the age
of 10 and the elderly 65 and older "are being taken off the pilgrims' list for
this year."
Saaz said the Iranian Health Ministry has concluded that 53 percent of swine
cases seen in the country so far have been among people who had returned from
Saudi Arabia.
KUNA reported Iran has stopped flights to Saudi Arabia in a bid to counter the
spread of the virus.
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