A mass gathering (MG) is defined by World Health Organization (WHO) as “any occasion, either organized or spontaneous, that attracts sufficient numbers of people to strain the planning and response resources of the community, city or nation hosting the event” (1). Hajj pilgrimage is one of the fundamental pillars of Islam which must be performed by those Muslims with adequate means and health o...

INTRODUCTION Sexual assault is disturbingly common, yet little is known about those occurring at mass gatherings, defined as a group of people congregated for a common purpose. Our objectives were to examine patterns of variation in sexual assault associated with mass gatherings and to determine factors associated with assaults occurring at mass gatherings. METHODS We performed a case series ...

INTRODUCTION The Suwa Onbashira Festival is held every six years and draws approximately one million spectators from across Japan. Men ride the Onbashira pillars (logs) down steep slopes. At each festival, several people are crushed under the heavy log. During the 2004 festival, for the first time, a medical care system that coordinated a medical team, an emergency medical service, related agen...