Tunis (ANTARA News/Reuters) - Tunisia has barred its citizens from making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca for the first time because of a lack of swine flu vaccines, the government said on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs said a batch of H1N1 flu jabs would not arrive before mid-October, too late to ensure candidates for the pilgrimage, or haj, are vaccinated.

Saudi Arabia`s embassy in Tunis said the haj will take place from around Nov. 18.

Millions of Muslims, including up to 10,000 Tunisians, flock to Mecca each year for the haj, a pillar of Islamic observance.

Saudi Arabia has urged the elderly and people with chronic diseases to postpone trips this year.

Several Muslim countries have sought to limit numbers travelling to Mecca but Tunisia is the first to formally cancel the pilgrimage.

Businesses in Islam`s holiest city are already counting the losses, with shops, hotels and tour operators reporting a marked decline in visitors.

The H1N1 virus had killed 3,917 people in 191 countries since being identified in April, according to World Health Organisation figures provided on Sept. 20.

No one has yet died from swine flu in Tunisia, which has documented 80 cases of the virus so far.(*)

Editor: Heru
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