( CNN ) -- For many Muslims it 's the journey of a lifetime : making the Hajj pilgrimage . Almost 3 million faithful , together , in the city of Mecca , Saudi Arabia . But this year , the Hajj could become an incubator for the H1N1 virus . At a Muslim community center in Duluth , Georgia , American Muslims pray and prepare for the Hajj . Lateefa Khan is here with her husband , Zakerullah . She has mixed emotions . They are leaving their children behind but say they look forward to the worship . `` It is very exciting . An amazing experience , '' Khan says . `` I am looking forward to worshipping , focusing all my time on worshipping . '' Khan will take precautions to avoid H1N1 , also known as swine flu , at the Hajj . They 'll carry hand sanitizer and will be `` frequently washing our hands , trying to stay as clean as possible . '' The Khans , along with a number of people at the center who are going on the Hajj , also are getting H1N1 inoculations . Dr. Asif Saberi gives them a short lecture on how to prepare and encourages everyone to have their shots at least seven days before traveling . He says the Saudi government is doing a lot to protect pilgrims , but `` the magnitude of the problem is the magnitude of the numbers of people who attend the Hajj . '' When it comes to using hand sanitizer and wearing masks , Saberi says he encounters confusion about religious dictates and flu prevention . According to Muslim beliefs , for example , men in a state of pilgrimage should not wear any stitched items or touch alcohol . So what about wearing face masks or using alcohol-based sanitizers ? `` One of the basic principles on which shariah ( Islamic law ) is based is the protection of the health , '' he says . `` So if protection of the health is of such paramount importance , then the ritualistic significance of not wearing stitched clothes on your body is subservient to the need to maintain good health . And therefore wearing a mask is important . Using the sanitizer , which prevents this disease from spreading to others , is important . '' Saudi Arabia has been preparing for the influx of millions of pilgrims . It wo n't turn away anyone who wants to come to the Hajj , but it is urging other countries not to let children younger than 12 , people older than 65 or pregnant women make the pilgrimage . The Saudi health minister went on television with his daughters , publicly getting their H1N1 flu shots , part of a campaign to alleviate fears about the vaccine . The kingdom also is using sophisticated technology -- thermal screening equipment at entry points and mobile devices to document suspected cases of the flu . Dr. Ziad Memish , assistant deputy to the Saudi health minister and co-author of a paper on Hajj and H1N1 published in Science magazine , said the government consulted 25 international experts , who joined with 25 Saudi experts , to discuss how to prepare . `` We had the team inspect the airport , the seaport , the regional lab that tests for the influenza , '' he said . `` And then we had a review of all the evidence regarding the different strategies that should be used to prevent the spread of the disease during the mass gathering of the Hajj . `` We have relied on a collaborative program with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , where they are helping us setting up a system that was used in the Hurricane Katrina disaster , and I think the system has already been tested and it is working perfectly well . '' In Washington , Louise Gresham , director of health security and epidemiology at the Nuclear Threat Initiative -- which also works to reduce global biological threats -- looks at a report tracking the spread of H1N1 in the Middle East . Gresham describes the risks : . `` Picture , if you can , that 1 million people will come together in a single mosque at any given time during the Hajj . Picture that crowding over an extended period of time , and that 's a test . A test not just for each individual pilgrim , but it is a real test for disease detection . '' The Nuclear Threat Initiative supports a groundbreaking surveillance system in the Middle East , called the Middle East Consortium on Infectious Disease Surveillance . It brings together public health leaders and representatives from academic institutions and private health care facilities in Jordan , Israel and the Palestinian Authority . It was started seven years ago , during the height of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict . `` They actually started writing a plan for food-borne disease outbreaks , but they started a pandemic preparedness plan , '' Gresham says . `` When H1N1 came along , this put them in a perfect position , because they were practiced , they were rehearsed and they had built great , great trust . '' As part of this cooperation , Israel is supplying Gaza and the West Bank with H1N1 vaccinations for those who make the religious journey . That trust , plus international cooperation , will be crucial in protecting pilgrims . For those like Fayzah Abu Ayadah , faith outweighs fear . `` Even if we die there , it is not important , '' the Palestinian says . `` The important thing is to go for the Hajj . ''
Health officials fear Hajj could help spread H1N1 virus . Muslims from all over the world travel to Mecca for Hajj . Authorities offer advice on how to minimize risk . Comment: