Figure 1个  Table 3个
    • Factors   N (%) Had MERS-CoV knowledge (%) OR* (95% CI**) P value
      Age, years
      18–40 178 (51) 77 (43) Reference  
      > 40 172 (49) 102 (59) 2 (1.3–3.1) < 0.01
      Gender
      Male 213 (61) 96 (48) Reference  
      Female 137 (39) 77 (60) 1.6 (1.0–2.4)  0.04
      Middle Eastern origin
      No 240 (67) 103 (43) Reference  
      Yes 110 (31) 71 (65) 2.42 (1.5–4.0) < 0.01
      Employed
      No 120 (33) 54 (45) Reference  
      Yes 230 (67) 113 (49) 1.17 (0.9–1.7)  0.66
      Presence of comorbidities
      No 274 (78) 130 (47) Reference  
      Yes 76 (22) 43 (57) 0.69 (0.6–1.6)  0.87
      Note: *OR = odds ratio; **CI = confidence interval; Bold values indicate a significant difference.

      Table 1.  Pre-Hajj survey in 2014 (n = 350): participants' demographic characteristics and knowledge about MERS-CoV.

    • Traits Number (%)
      Have awareness of MERS-CoV 173 (49)
      Source of knowledge*
      Mass media 121 (70)
      Internet 34 (20)
      Family & friends 32 (18)
      GPs 27 (16)
      Travel agents 11 (6)
      Saudi MoH 8 (5)
      'Smarttraveller' website** 8 (5)
      Other sources 3 (2)
      Severity of MERS-CoV
      For pilgrims aged≥65 years***
      Very serious 100 (60)
      Moderately serious 43 (25)
      Slightly serious 14 (8)
      Not serious 11 (6)
      For pilgrims with chronic diseases***
      Very serious 86 (51)
      Moderately serious 48 (28)
      Slightly serious 15 (9)
      Not serious 20 (12)
      For pilgrims aged between (18–64) years
      Very serious 47 (27)
      Moderately serious 43 (25)
      Slightly serious 47 (27)
      Not serious 36 (21)
      Risk of contracting MERS-CoV at Hajj
      Very concerned 47 (27)
      Moderately concerned 43 (25)
      Slightly concerned 47 (27)
      Not concerned 36 (21)
      Awareness about MoH guidance to postpone Hajj
      Yes 88 (51)
      No 85 (49)
      Knowledge about body part affected by MERS-CoV***
      Respiratory tract 132 (77)
      Kidneys 16 (9)
      Digestive tract 12 (7)
      Brain 11 (6)
      Note: *Some pilgrims obtained the information from more than one sources, so the percentage is >100; **smartraveller.gov. au; ***Missing data have been excluded.

      Table 2.  Pre-Hajj survey in 2014 (n = 350): participants' knowledge and attitude regarding MERS-CoV.

    •   Pilgrims aware of MERS-CoV n (%)* Pilgrims unaware of MERS-CoV n (%)** P value
      Risk of drinking unpasteurized camel milk
      No risk 23 (13) 41 (23) < 0.01
      Low risk 25 (14) 43 (24)  
      Medium risk 50 (30) 53 (30)  
      High risk 75 (43) 40 (23)  
      Willing to drink unpasteurized camel milk
      Definitely not 100 (58) 82 (46)  0.04
      Unlikely 46 (27) 49 (28)  
      Possibly 25 (14) 39 (22)  
      Definitely yes 2 (1) 7 (4)  
      Willing to visit camel farm
      Definitely not 83 (48) 66 (37)  0.18
      Unlikely 51 (30) 54 (31)  
      Possibly 33 (19) 48 (27)  
      Definitely yes 7 (4) 9 (5)  
      Note: *Number of pilgrims = 173; **Number of pilgrims = 177; Bold values denote significant difference.

      Table 3.  Pre-Hajj survey in 2014: participants' perceptions about the risk of camel exposure at Hajj.