Mass gathering is defined by WHO as – “More than specified number of persons (which can be as few as 1000 persons to more than 25000) at a specific location for a specific purpose (social function, large public event or sports competition) for a defined period of time” . Mass gatherings are considered to have the potential for public health incidents, outbreaks and casualties attributed to the inevitable overcrowding in a place. Because populations are increasingly mobile, and more able to attend large gatherings, the risk for outbreaks of infectious diseases among a susceptible population has increased, and a substantial responsibility is placed on health services if outbreaks occur. Currently, there are no existing programmes of surveillance for mass gathering events in Wales. Although a variety of surveillance system exist, no systematic process is established to gather the information from important large events and collect into a common database for future reference and to study the impact. The number of people attending these gatherings in Wales range from few thousands to 250,000.

Objective

To identify the need of surveillance during mass gathering events in Wales by identifying a causal relationship between public health and characteristics of a mass gathering event grounded on risk assessment.