The Lancet Infectious Diseases Series’ sixth and final paper on mass gatherings (MGs) calls for action to set out and accomplish the public health benefits that can be achieved by confronting the health security and other health risks at mass gatherings (MGs). Several research priorities are highlighted in this paper to ensure that effective policies are developed for the planning of such events.

Lead author John Tam from the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland explains:

“The development of effective methods for and improvement of planning and handling of the health risks associated with MGs will strengthen global health security, prevent excessive emergency health problems and associated economic loss, and mitigate potential societal disruption in host and home communities.”

The health of individuals all around the world is threatened by health risks linked to MGs, especially people in low-income areas that have inadequate access to interventions like vaccines and antimicrobial drugs.

According to the authors, evidence-based mitigation measures not only provide the opportunity to lower adverse health consequences of MGs; they also bring permanent improvements to the public health system and society as a whole. For instance, legacies of clinical and laboratory services and early warning surveillance for the last summer Olympics in Sydney, Athens, and Beijing are still used on a regular basis.

However, they add that the planning and success of MGs is hampered by big gaps in existing knowledge about many health risks linked to MGs and which public-health interventions function best, combined with inadequate international coordination to detect and fund research priorities for MG health.

The authors recommend the implementation of five key public health areas for research, which include control measures for public health that are associated with MGs and policies:

  • To develop an effective public health policy to minimize the effects of public health events, such as a smoke-free environments to prevent fire and suggesting pilgrims to get vaccinated to help prevent the transmission of infectious diseases during the Hajj
  • Optimizing medical services and the treatment of diseases by aiming to improve and target the clinical management of patients and infection control, as well as developing novel treatment strategies for use in low-resource areas and field conditions
  • Developing and utilizing modern public health strategies to reduce the effect of health problems like state-of-the-art measures for the early detection and monitoring of diseases, for instance using mobile phones to collect and communicate information in real-time
  • Reducing the risk of public health emergencies during MGs by aiming to provide a global capacity for health intelligence
  • Controlling the occurrence of non-communicable and communicable diseases and developing evidence-based non-pharmaceutical interventions for infection control

In a concluding statement Tam and his team say:

“The results of this research can provide an evidence-based platform for policy decisions and practices to reduce the risks and effects of MG-associated health issues and global security risks to public health…[and] provide a platform to enable coordination, discussion, and interaction among the organizers of MGs, public health professionals, and researchers; and encourage a multidisciplinary approach to address gaps in knowledge about health risks associated with MGs and their control.”

Written by Petra Rattue