As the A/H1N1 influenza has spread to about 170 countries and is still advancing, China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has taken special medical measures to protect pilgrims to Mecca against being infected.

Each pilgrim will undergo a physical examination and be inoculated with vaccines against flu, encephalitis and cholera, said an official with the regional exit-entry inspection and quarantine administration.

Electronic health records will be set up for nearly 3,000 pilgrims in Xinjiang before they leave for Mecca, Islam's holiest site, the official said on Saturday.

Physicians are required to record pilgrims' personal medical history and check-up results on computer, he said, adding the record would still be valid if they make pilgrimages in future.

For the pilgrims in remote areas, the region has designated qualified hospitals to carry out physical check-ups.

More than 30,000 local people made pilgrimage to Mecca in the past 20 years, including 2,800 for last year, five times more than the number for the previous two decades.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2009)