Revelation 6:7,8 NCV When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill people by war, by starvation, by disease, and by the wild animals of the earth.
World virologists are concerned about the Islamic hajj to Saudi Arabia in wake of the outbreak of the deadly MERS virus.
The virus has originated in Saudi Arabia but no one has been able to find the source of the virus. The virus has struck hardest in Saudi with 40 deaths, a 52% mortality rate.
Officials say that MERS is less infectious than its cousin, SARS, but virologists admit they can’t say exactly how the virus has spread between people. If it’s through coughs or sneezes, MERS could see a significant rise when the crowds flood into Mecca and Medina.
“We don’t know what the potential is yet, based on the information we have, for sustained human-to-human transmission. We don’t know what the full geographic extent of this virus is right now,” Keiji Fukuda of the World Health Organization told an international conference last week.
Last year, the hajj drew 3.1 million people. Just like last year, the hajj falls in October, when the northern hemisphere moves into cough and cold season.
