Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

to describe the characteristics of the health assistance for pilgrims visiting the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida and to investigate health care strategies in periods of peak of religious tourism.

METHODS:

a descriptive study using outpatient medical records from 2011 to 2014, for a detailed analysis for the month of October 2014 and the operational documents for health care in periods of mass events in the medical clinic of the Sanctuary.

RESULTS:

95,011 people were assisted in the period, 2,266 in October 2014; the higher demand for assistance was from elderly individuals (33%), women (59%), and people from the Brazilian Southeast region (79%); there were no operational documents for specific actions for this period.

CONCLUSION:

the large number of visitors, associated with the frequency of mass events and the absence of an operating plan, may pose a serious public health scenario for that region.

Keywords:
Health Planning; Health Services Accessibility; Tourism; Religion; Epidemiology, Descriptive

Introduction

Hosting mass events brings many challenges related to agglomeration of people, demanding greater supply and organization of health services.¹1. Garcia MHO, Paula Júnior FJ, Barbosa JR, Souza GS, Silva AJM, Beltrão LAA. Copa do Mundo FIFA Brasil 2014: vigilância ativa e perfil dos atendimentos de saúde na cidade-sede de Fortaleza, Ceará. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2016 jul-set;25(3):499-510.^-22. Vasconcelos MP, Braga C, Gouveia GC, Souza WV. Romarias no município de Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará: perfil da demanda por atendimento de saúde e sazonalidade de internações. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2015 jan-mar;24(1):39-48. This is, however, a good opportunity for the economic and social development, as well as an opportunity to revitalize and modernize public administration areas, infrastructure and urban planning.³3. Massuda A. Megaeventos no Brasil: oportunidades e desafios da Copa do Mundo FIFA 2014 para o Sistema Único de Saúde. Rev Bras Cardiol. 2012 set-out;25(5): 358-61. Brazil has hosted mega-events, characterized as 'mass gatherings or mass events', such as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20) in 2012, the Confederations Cup in Brazil and the World Youth Day, held in 2013, the World Cup of Football in 2014, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), these celebrations can be defined as 'events with the participation of a sufficient number of people (as few as a thousand, or exceeding 25 thousand persons), which entails the need to extend the capabilities of planning and response of the community, State or nation, including Public Health resources'.⁴4. World Health Organization. Communicable disease alert and response for mass gatherings: key considerations. Genebra: World Health Organization; 2008 [Cited 2015 May 22 ]. Available from: Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/Mass_gatherings2.pdf
http://www.who.int/csr/Mass_gatherings2....

In some places large unscheduled movements of tourists occur, which can become great scenarios for Public Health emergencies in Brazil. In the case of places of pilgrimage, named as 'Religious Tourism', in which pilgrims travel through the mysteries of faith, or of devotion to a saint. In practice, this kind of tourism consists of tours to places considered sacred, congresses and seminars linked to evangelization, religious festivals celebrated periodically, shows and theatrical representations of religious nature.⁵5. Silveira EJS. Turismo religioso popular? Entre a ambiguidade conceitual e as oportunidades de mercado. Rev Antropol Experimental. 2014;4:1-16.

In the state of São Paulo, in the city of Aparecida, considered the capital of religious tourism in Brazil, it is located the biggest Marian pilgrimage center, and the second largest Catholic Church in the world: the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida. While in most sanctuaries there's only big movement on the occasion of the novena and annual feast of the Patron Saint, in Aparecida-SP, the search takes place during the whole year; there are few weekends in which the quantity of pilgrims are less than 40 thousand, often they surpass 80 thousand people, revealing the Sanctuary as a permanent centre of mass gatherings. The pilgrimage to Aparecida-SP occurs since 1717 (the discovery of the saint) until the present day, and is growing, as shown by the increase of 6 million to 12 million of pilgrims between 1998 and 2014.⁶6. GRnews. Santuário Nacional de Aparecida recebeu 12,2 milhões visitantes em 2014 [Internet]. [local desconhecido] : GRnews; 2015 [citado 2015 mai 22 ]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://www.grnews.com.br/07012015/grnews/santuario-nacional-de-aparecida recebeu-122-milhoes-visitantes-em-2014
http://www.grnews.com.br/07012015/grnews...

In view of the implications and challenges for Public Health that mass events may represent, the Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response of the WHO reports having received numerous requests from various countries for guidance and technical assistance to host an event, in recent decades. In 2008, this organ has produced the document 'Communicable disease alert and response for mass gatherings' with the purpose of standardizing the planning of these actions. For the preparations of the mass gatherings, the document considers the analysis of three factors: Risk assessment (What could happen?); Surveillance (How and when it happens?); and Response (What should we do when this happens?).⁴4. World Health Organization. Communicable disease alert and response for mass gatherings: key considerations. Genebra: World Health Organization; 2008 [Cited 2015 May 22 ]. Available from: Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/Mass_gatherings2.pdf
http://www.who.int/csr/Mass_gatherings2....

The Ministry of Health, through the ordinance No. 1,139, from the 10^th of June, 2013, also defined the responsibilities of management and has established national guidelines for the planning, implementation and evaluation of the actions of surveillance and health care in mass events, in order to prevent and mitigate the health risks to which it is exposed the population involved in this type of event, including promotion, monitoring and protection, and health care.⁷7. Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria nº 1.139, de 10 de junho de 2013. Diretrizes nacionais para planejamento, execução e avaliação das ações de vigilância e assistência à saúde em eventos de massa. Diário Oficial de República Federativa do Brasil, Brasília (DF), 2013 jun 13;Seção 1:45.

The aim of the present study was to describe the characteristics of the health assistance for pilgrims visiting the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida and investigate health care strategies in periods of great religious tourist drive.

Methods

This is a descriptive study, which used as data source the service records of the medical clinic of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida-SP, between 2011 and 2014.

The tourism is the main source of the city's resources, moving the local economy by generating jobs and income.

Resident population of the municipality is of 36,184 inhabitants;⁸8. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Estimativas populacionais para os municípios brasileiros em 01.07.2014. Brasília: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; 2014 [citado 2015 mai 22 ]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Estimativas_de_Populacao/Estimativas_2014/estimativa_dou_2014.pdf
http://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Estimativas_de_Po... on weekends, that number could rise by up to five times, and in some periods it exceeds the average for 170 thousand pilgrims, especially in October, when it is celebrated the Day of Our Lady Aparecida.

The Religious Tourist Complex of the National Shrine, situated in the town of Aparecida, in the countryside of São Paulo state, Brazil, is the largest Marian pilgrimage centre and the second largest Catholic church in the world, with capacity to receive up to 75 thousand people. Administered by the Redemptorists missionaries since 1894, the shrine occupies a plot of 1,352,765m² and possesses a built area of 142,865m², harboring the Support Centre for Pilgrims, with 380 shops, including large food court, and a healthcare service: an ambulatory located on the outside of the sanctuary to meet the health problems presented by pilgrims during their visits to the Shrine Complex. The service, held in financial terms and managed by the Sanctuary, is not hinged to the municipal health service system; until the period studied, there was not even a record of this ambulatory in the National Registry of Health Facilities (CNES).

The service works from Monday to Friday (from 7 am to 7 pm) and weekends (from 7 am to 7:30 pm). It offers ten beds for observation, hydration room, dressing room and the emergency room. The ambulatory has a multidisciplinary team, consisting of two nurses, eight technicians of nursing, two hostesses and two helpers to sanitation services, all working in schedule of shifts per turn - morning and afternoon. A physician works in flexible hours, doing 2 hours daily from Monday to Friday (usually from 2 to 4 pm); on weekends, two doctors work in duty regime (from 7 am to 7 pm). The service is performed as follows: the pilgrims attend spontaneously or are brought in by ambulance (without advanced life support equipment) from the place where they meet, if they present any health problems during the visit to the Complex. There is no classification of risk upon arrival: when the doctor is in the ambulatory, the medical consultation and treatment is performed. If the doctor is not present, the patient is attended by a nurse and technicians: in case there is the need to a higher complexity assistance and/or continuity of medical attention at a time beyond the period of operation of the ambulatory, the patient is referred (in the same basic ambulance) to a municipal emergency room, which is part of the urgency care networks,⁹9. Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria nº 1.600, de 7 de julho de 2011. Reformula a Política Nacional de Atenção às Urgências e institui a Rede de Atenção às Urgências no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil, Brasília (DF), 2011 jul 8;Seção 1:69 (located at the Santa Casa site), 2.5 km from the Sanctuary.

All data on the assistances made in the medical clinic of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, during the period from the 1^st of January, 2011 to the 31^st of December, 2014 were included. It was analyzed the ambulatory assistance of that institution. The registry of assistance records was performed manually.

For the data extraction it was used an instrument drawn up by researchers, including the following variables: sex (male; female); age group (0-9, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and ≥ 60 years); origin by macro-region of the country and federative unit of origin (North-AC, AP, AM, PA, RO, RR and TO; Northeast-AL, BA, CE, MA, PB, PE, PI, RN and IF; Midwest -DF, GO, MV and MS; Southeast-SP, RJ, MG and ES; and South -PR, SC and RS); period of assistance (morning, afternoon); year, month, and day of the week on which the assistance was performed; and outcome (ambulatory care or referral to another health service).

The variables 'type of attendance' and 'reason for demanding' to the clinic were tested in another study.¹⁰10. Carmo HO, Valente TCO. Romarias à Aparecida, São Paulo: estrutura e perfil das ocorrências no Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência. Rev Gest Saude. 2016 jul;07 supl 1:889-905.

For the period from 2011 to 2014, it was calculated the average number of monthly assistances and the relative frequency of annual assistances compared to the number of visitors in the same year (in percentage).¹¹ Considering the month of October 2014, the frequencies were calculated in the categories of variables and the proportion of ignored information.

This study consists of a descriptive assessment of the distribution of sessions held in October 2014, motivated by the fact that the chosen period is the busiest one of the year. The data were tabulated with the Microsoft® program Office Excel®.

In order to investigate the health care strategies, it was analyzed documents, provided by the coordinators of the service, that mentioned the structure and organization of services related to health demands of pilgrims. It was identified, in those documents, reference to recommendations for mass events proposed by WHO and the Ministry of Health, such as: protocols, flow charts, procedures, operating plan, pan of emergency and contingency.

The project of the study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) at the Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO): Report No. 690,431, of the 13th June, 2014.

Results

From 2011 to 2014, 46,082,846 people visited the shrine and 95,011 demanded assistance in the ambulatory, with reduction of the frequency of people who undergone such health care: 2011 (25,000), 2012 (25,000), 2013 (24,000) and 2014 (21,000). However, in the same period, the number of individuals in the ambulatory of the Sanctuary who were referred to the Municipal Emergency Room increased (Figure 1).

In Figure 2, it was observed that, between 2011 and 2014, the monthly average of assistances in the ambulatory from July to December was greater (n=2,353) than the period from January to June, which corresponded to 1,635. Coinciding with the largest tourist movement in the Sanctuary. On the 12th October, 2014 - October 12 is the feast day of our Lady of Aparecida -, it was reached the record of the last ten years, with the presence of 195,098 pilgrims.

The detailed analysis for the month of October 2014 (Table 1), it was observed that there was a higher frequency of visits on Sundays (33%), followed by Saturdays (28%) and Fridays (10%), with the highest concentration of appointments in the morning period (63%) and slight female predominance (59%) among individuals attended. Considering the age group, people over 60 years (33%) and those with 50 to 59 years (15%) sought the clinic more often. Most of patients came from the Southeastern region (79%), followed by the Southern (8%), Midwestern (3%) and Northeastern (2%) regions of Brazil. These individuals were mainly from the states of São Paulo (38%), Minas Gerais (32%), Rio de Janeiro (8%) and Paraná (5%).The variables with the greatest presence of ignored data were age (13%) and origin (8%).

Considering the research on the strategies of health care in the ambulatory of the Religious Touristic Complex, when selected periods of great religious touristic movement in the Sanctuary, it was identified the absence of protocols, flow charts, procedures, operating plan, emergency and contingency plan, related to the planning and organization of actions in these periods.

Discussion

This is the first study to present the characteristics of assistances and the measures taken for organizing the health assistance to pilgrims, in the Touristic Complex of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, the main and largest center of religious pilgrimage in Brazil. Unlike other places of pilgrimage, such as Juazeiro do Norte in Ceará state, which in periods of most important festivals - feast of Our Lady of Candeias, Our Lady of Sorrows and of the Dead -, install emergency medical unities in areas near places of visitation and offer primary care services,²2. Vasconcelos MP, Braga C, Gouveia GC, Souza WV. Romarias no município de Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará: perfil da demanda por atendimento de saúde e sazonalidade de internações. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2015 jan-mar;24(1):39-48. in national shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, this service operates continuously throughout the year. In addition to this service offered inside the Sanctuary, the assistance of emergency is maintained by the Mobile Emergency Care Service (SAMU) and the Fire Department Rescue Team in the nearby area.¹⁰10. Carmo HO, Valente TCO. Romarias à Aparecida, São Paulo: estrutura e perfil das ocorrências no Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência. Rev Gest Saude. 2016 jul;07 supl 1:889-905.

The discrete female predominance amongst patients, corroborates another study carried out in a place of religious pilgrimage conducted in the Northeastern region of Brazil², noting that females constitute the majority audience for this type of event. Many of the pilgrims who sought health care in the ambulatory of the sanctuary came from the Southeast, primarily the state of São Paulo in Brazil. Nevertheless, there were assistances for people of all regions of Brazil.

Furthermore, in the present study, it was observed that the occurrence of public health emergency events are more probable to occur during the weekends, and also with higher proportion of cases referred to another, emergency room, due to the necessity of continuity of assistance and/or greater complexity. This pattern is similar to the one described in national literature, which demonstrates that, in a religious event 7.4% of pilgrims remained in observation and 2.4% were transferred to another health service². In another study though, on sportif mass event, 3.2% required transfer to a higher level of complexity and 2.5% required hospitalization.¹1. Garcia MHO, Paula Júnior FJ, Barbosa JR, Souza GS, Silva AJM, Beltrão LAA. Copa do Mundo FIFA Brasil 2014: vigilância ativa e perfil dos atendimentos de saúde na cidade-sede de Fortaleza, Ceará. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2016 jul-set;25(3):499-510. Such findings were also observed in the international literature.¹²12. Fretz R, Schmid H, Kayser U, Svoboda P, Tanner M, Baumgartner A. Rapid propagation of norovirus gastrointestinal illness through multiple nursing homes following a pilgrimage. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2003 Oct;22(10):625-7.^,1313. Gautret P. Religious mass gatherings: connecting people and infectious agents. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2015 Feb;21(2):107-8. Thus, it draws attention this large population displacement caused by a mass event and the risks of spreading communicable diseases.⁴4. World Health Organization. Communicable disease alert and response for mass gatherings: key considerations. Genebra: World Health Organization; 2008 [Cited 2015 May 22 ]. Available from: Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/Mass_gatherings2.pdf
http://www.who.int/csr/Mass_gatherings2.... ^,88. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Estimativas populacionais para os municípios brasileiros em 01.07.2014. Brasília: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; 2014 [citado 2015 mai 22 ]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Estimativas_de_Populacao/Estimativas_2014/estimativa_dou_2014.pdf
http://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Estimativas_de_Po... ^,1414. Ministério da Saúde (BR). Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Departamento de Vigilância em Saúde Ambiental e Saúde do Trabalhador. Plano de resposta às emergências em saúde pública. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2014.

Mass events has been a challenge to health managers, and demand for the development of programs and policies in the area of public health in order to prevent the importation of diseases, promote and protect the health of migrants and of the local population.⁴4. World Health Organization. Communicable disease alert and response for mass gatherings: key considerations. Genebra: World Health Organization; 2008 [Cited 2015 May 22 ]. Available from: Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/Mass_gatherings2.pdf
http://www.who.int/csr/Mass_gatherings2.... ^,88. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Estimativas populacionais para os municípios brasileiros em 01.07.2014. Brasília: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; 2014 [citado 2015 mai 22 ]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Estimativas_de_Populacao/Estimativas_2014/estimativa_dou_2014.pdf
http://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Estimativas_de_Po... It is the responsibility of health authorities to assess, approve the planning, and monitor the implementation of the activities proposed by the organizers of events, concerning the prevention, risk mitigation and preparation of the project for providing health services to the people involved.¹⁴14. Ministério da Saúde (BR). Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Departamento de Vigilância em Saúde Ambiental e Saúde do Trabalhador. Plano de resposta às emergências em saúde pública. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2014. Notwithstanding the large number of pilgrims who visit the Sanctuary⁵5. Silveira EJS. Turismo religioso popular? Entre a ambiguidade conceitual e as oportunidades de mercado. Rev Antropol Experimental. 2014;4:1-16., confirmed cases of endemic disease¹⁵15. G1. Com 350 casos, Aparecida decreta epidemia de dengue [Internet]. São Paulo: G1; 2015 [citado 2015 abr 17 ]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://g1.globo.com/sp/vale-do-paraiba-regiao/noticia/2015/04/com-340-casos-aparecida-decreta-epidemia-de-dengue.html
http://g1.globo.com/sp/vale-do-paraiba-r... , and environmental disasters¹⁶16. Domingos R. Chuva obriga 133 famílias a deixar suas casas em Aparecida, em SP [Internet]. São Paulo: G1 ; 2010 [citado 2010 jan 26 ]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/SaoPaulo/0,,MUL1432104-5605,00-CHUVA+OBRIGA+FAMILIAS+A+DEIXAR+SUAS+CASAS+EM+APARECIDA+EM+SP.html/
http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/SaoPaulo/0,... , it was identified the absence of organizational instruments and an action plan for the periods of great religious touristic movement in the site.

According to the WHO, the preparation of such events begins with the assessment of the risk scenario and the preparation of the operating plan of the mass event. This evaluation document, focused on the preparation of services and staff, includes a set of activities to be developed before, during and after the event.⁴4. World Health Organization. Communicable disease alert and response for mass gatherings: key considerations. Genebra: World Health Organization; 2008 [Cited 2015 May 22 ]. Available from: Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/Mass_gatherings2.pdf
http://www.who.int/csr/Mass_gatherings2.... ^,88. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Estimativas populacionais para os municípios brasileiros em 01.07.2014. Brasília: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; 2014 [citado 2015 mai 22 ]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Estimativas_de_Populacao/Estimativas_2014/estimativa_dou_2014.pdf
http://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Estimativas_de_Po... This process must be continuous and include, additionally, the constant check of how the health system and the community must deal with a possible increase in the demand for assistances.¹⁴14. Ministério da Saúde (BR). Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Departamento de Vigilância em Saúde Ambiental e Saúde do Trabalhador. Plano de resposta às emergências em saúde pública. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2014.

Due to the lack of a risk scenario evaluation, and the absence of an operating plan preparation for a mass event, in the year 2013, Brazil suffered the second-biggest tragedy related to this topic: the fire occurred at the Kiss Club, in the city of Santa Maria-RS, on the 27th of January, 2013, with 242 fatalities. Amidst these fatalities, 235 died that day, asphyxiated by the inhalation of toxic fumes, and about a thousand others were injured. Technical reports of the Forensics Institute confirmed the poisoning produced by carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN), resulting from the combustion of polyurethane foam used for acoustic insulation in the ceiling of the nightclub.¹⁷17. Antonello L. Peritos do IGP reafirmaram que espuma liberou cianeto na Kiss [Internet]. Santa Maria: Diário de Santa Maria; 2013 [citado 2016 out 11 ]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://diariodesantamaria.clicrbs.com.br/rs/geral-policia/noticia/2015/09/peritos-do-igp-reafirmaram-que-espuma-liberou-cianeto-na-kiss-4856254.html
http://diariodesantamaria.clicrbs.com.br... ^,1818. Pasqualoto AS, Albuquerque IM, Pereira MB, Bertolazi AN, Silva CSPR, Prado ALC, et al. Perfil epidemiológico, sinais e sintomas respiratórios de indivíduos que inalaram fumaça tóxica no incêndio da boate Kiss, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil. ConScientiae Saude. 2015;14(2):229-35. The first major national tragedy, occurred in 1961, in the city of Niterói-RJ, in the Gran Circus Norte Americano, where 503 people were victimized.¹⁸18. Pasqualoto AS, Albuquerque IM, Pereira MB, Bertolazi AN, Silva CSPR, Prado ALC, et al. Perfil epidemiológico, sinais e sintomas respiratórios de indivíduos que inalaram fumaça tóxica no incêndio da boate Kiss, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil. ConScientiae Saude. 2015;14(2):229-35.

National and international literature show that the great concentration of people in a single geographic area, combined with the poor conditions of hygiene and nutrition, such as precarious hygienic handling of food, inadequate waste management and sanitation, increase the risk of spreading infectious diseases, with possibility of high rates of morbidity and mortality due to communicable diseases.³3. Massuda A. Megaeventos no Brasil: oportunidades e desafios da Copa do Mundo FIFA 2014 para o Sistema Único de Saúde. Rev Bras Cardiol. 2012 set-out;25(5): 358-61.^,1919. Steffen R. Mass gatherings: health risks and preventive strategies. Ther Umsch. 2013 Jun;70(6):350-2.^,2020. Steffen R, Bouchama A, Johansson A, Dvorak J, Isla N, Smallwood C, et al. Non-communicable health risks during mass gatherings. Lancet Infect Dis. 2012 Feb;12(2):142-9. Besides, there are other health problems, such as worsening of pre-existing chronic-degenerative diseases, traumas and deaths resulting from acts of violence and terrorist attacks.²¹21. Blyth CC, Foo H, van Hal SJ, Hurt AC, Barr IG, McPhie K, et al. Influenza outbreaks during World Youth Day 2008 mass gathering. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010 May;16(5):809-15. In previous studies on Christian mass events, the prevalence of infectious diseases³3. Massuda A. Megaeventos no Brasil: oportunidades e desafios da Copa do Mundo FIFA 2014 para o Sistema Único de Saúde. Rev Bras Cardiol. 2012 set-out;25(5): 358-61.^,1212. Fretz R, Schmid H, Kayser U, Svoboda P, Tanner M, Baumgartner A. Rapid propagation of norovirus gastrointestinal illness through multiple nursing homes following a pilgrimage. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2003 Oct;22(10):625-7.^,1313. Gautret P. Religious mass gatherings: connecting people and infectious agents. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2015 Feb;21(2):107-8.^,2222. Verhoef L, Duizer E, Vennema H, Siebenga J, Swaan C, Isken L, et al. Import of norovirus infections in the Netherlands and Ireland following pilgrimages to Lourdes, 2008: preliminary report. Euro Surveill. 2008 Oct:13(44):pii:19025., symptoms of digestive diseases (gastroenteritis), fever and headache, mainly due to the trip held in poor conditions were described.²2. Vasconcelos MP, Braga C, Gouveia GC, Souza WV. Romarias no município de Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará: perfil da demanda por atendimento de saúde e sazonalidade de internações. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2015 jan-mar;24(1):39-48. Another study stressed that 57% of the pilgrims travel by bus to arrive at the National Shrine of Aparecida-SP, usually in tours organized by the parishes, taking advantage of the affordable price; on the other hand, they have to deal with the unfavourable conditions of comfort and hygiene on these trips.²³23. Pinto AG. O turismo religioso em Aparecida (SP): aspectos históricos, urbanos e o perfil dos romeiros [dissertação ]. Rio Claro (SP): Universidade Estadual Paulista; 2006.

The other aspect considered important by the WHO concerns surveillance. Its duties are related to (i) control of communicable diseases, (ii) control of the non-communicable diseases, (iii) monitoring the health situation, (iv) environmental surveillance in health, (v) the health surveillance of workers (vi) health surveillance. Specific activities²⁴24. Fernandes CFR. A preparação da vigilância em saúde para atuação em eventos de massa: produção normativa. Cad Ibero-Amer Dir Sanit. 2015 jan-mar;4(1):22-40. on each of these health surveillance actions are carried out whenever there is a possibility of a public health emergency, which requires urgent measures to prevent, control and contain risks, damages and harms to public health (outbreaks and epidemics), disasters and other events.¹⁴14. Ministério da Saúde (BR). Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Departamento de Vigilância em Saúde Ambiental e Saúde do Trabalhador. Plano de resposta às emergências em saúde pública. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2014.^,2424. Fernandes CFR. A preparação da vigilância em saúde para atuação em eventos de massa: produção normativa. Cad Ibero-Amer Dir Sanit. 2015 jan-mar;4(1):22-40.

One of the main sources of information for surveillance, which aims to prepare for the healthcare needs at the Sanctuary of Aparecida, used in the present study, are, the ambulatory assistance forms. However, they presented low completness for some variables. From the medical records of assistances to the pilgrims in Juazeiro do Norte-CE, it was possible to trace the profile of demand and point out the critical assistance issues, especially for sanitary vigilance - particularly the supervision of trade in food - and epidemiological surveillance, with the objective of (i) early identification of communicable diseases, (ii) prevention of occurrence of outbreaks and epidemics and (iii) prevention of spread of disease.¹1. Garcia MHO, Paula Júnior FJ, Barbosa JR, Souza GS, Silva AJM, Beltrão LAA. Copa do Mundo FIFA Brasil 2014: vigilância ativa e perfil dos atendimentos de saúde na cidade-sede de Fortaleza, Ceará. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2016 jul-set;25(3):499-510. Problems related to information and communication record generated conflicts in active surveillance and profile of assistances in football World Cup 2014 in the city of Fortaleza, capital of Ceará state. Syndromic surveillance has begun belatedly, favoring the loss of opportunity for early detection of possible outbreaks related to diarrheal, respiratory and exanthematic syndromes, not being identified event of great importance for Public Health.²2. Vasconcelos MP, Braga C, Gouveia GC, Souza WV. Romarias no município de Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará: perfil da demanda por atendimento de saúde e sazonalidade de internações. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2015 jan-mar;24(1):39-48.

Another important source of information for surveillance is the annual calendar of touristic movement²⁵25. Santuário Nacional Aparecida. Eventos, romarias e movimento [Internet]. Aparecida: Santuário Nacional Aparecida; 2007 [citado 2015 mar 18 ]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://www.a12.com/santuario-nacional/servicos/estimativa_de_movimento
http://www.a12.com/santuario-nacional/se... , which is elaborated by the press office of the Sanctuary and the Cultural Department of the municipality. The calendar tells the movement days, describes the type of expected population in each pilgrimage (pilgrimage of the third age, children, cyclists, riding, among others), the duration of the celebration and the origin of the pilgrims. Public profile during each event may trigger and/or increase risks. These specific events can attract participants from certain risk groups, increasing the chance of being a source or becoming susceptible to infections. This may create challenging scenarios for the prevention and control of diseases.²⁶26. Tam JS, Barbeschi M, Shapovalova N, Briand S, Memish ZA, Kieny MP. Research agenda for mass gatherings: a call to action. Lancet Infect Dis. 2012 Mar;12(3):231-39.

The third point mentioned by the WHO is the type of response to be triggered when emergency situations in mass events occur. Considering the National Shrine and the municipality of Aparecida-SP, such responses - also mentioned by the Ministry of Health to nationwide mass events - should be forseen in an emergency and contingency plan. An emergency plan consists of an array of institutional and operational rapid response, with the function of protecting from health hazards, reducing impacts and limiting the progression of a disease or crisis. The contingency plan, aligned to the emergency plan, is the specific design of performance for each type of probable event that can occur.⁸8. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Estimativas populacionais para os municípios brasileiros em 01.07.2014. Brasília: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; 2014 [citado 2015 mai 22 ]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Estimativas_de_Populacao/Estimativas_2014/estimativa_dou_2014.pdf
http://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Estimativas_de_Po...

Periods of increased number of pilgrimages and festivals in the municipality of Aparecida-SP should be considered for the establishment of a contingency plan, including installation of additional service, close to places of greater visitation, managed by the Municipal Health Department and the Sanctuary. However, neither the city of Aparecida, nor the National Shrine, have such instruments.

It becomes absolutely necessary to establish an appropriate organization for the local health, articulating the facilities and services inside and outside the Shrine, in all spheres of management - federal, state-level and municipal level -, seeking suitable conditions for the development of the activities inherent to a mass event like the visit of the heads of State - the Pope, e.g. - or more appropriate to minor events in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and WHO.

The results presented here are of the utmost importance, because they call attention to the need for the development of health policies and actions aimed at prevention, preparedness and performance in hazards that may occur in mass events.

Some limitations for the development of this study should be highlighted, such as the fact that the ambulatory assistance sheets were filled manually and its components 'age' and 'origin' were with incomplete data. Besides the inability to measure the variables, the 'reason for the demand' and the 'type of care' were also incomplete. All these variables constituted important data to trace profile and to indicate specific public health actions. It is concluded that these limitations have undertaken, albeit partially, the quality of the investigation.

From the point of view of Public Health, mass events like the religious tourism, pilgrimages, sporting competitions and concerts of music are becoming larger and more frequent in Brazil, representing a substantial risk of spreading infectious diseases²⁷27. Al-Tawfiq JA, Smallwood CA, Arbuthnott KG, Malik MS, Barbeschi M, Memish ZA. Emerging respiratory and novel coronavirus 2012 infections and mass gatherings. East Mediterr Health J. 2013;19 Suppl 1:S48-54. and therefore demanding greater supply of health services.²⁸28. Al-Tawfiq JA, Zumla A, Memish ZA. Respiratory tract infections during the annual Hajj: potential risks and mitigation strategies. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2013 May;19(3):192-7.

The accomplishment of these events brings up the debate on political and administrative issues, involving decisions about public spending and capacity of states and municipalities to ensure an adequate and sufficient public health services and infrastructure to attend not only tourists, but also the resident population.

To meet the challenges represented by mega events, offering safety to tourists and the general population, can also mean a chance for investment in professional training and qualification of services in the area of urgency and emergency. Moreover, the implementation of information and communication technologies in health, aiming at monitoring and response to emergency situations, represents benefits that can be left as permanent legacies for the organization of the health system.¹³13. Gautret P. Religious mass gatherings: connecting people and infectious agents. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2015 Feb;21(2):107-8.

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