Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Superspreading Event Involving 81 Persons, Korea 2015
Myoung-don Oh, Pyoeng Gyun Choe, Hong Sang Oh, Wan Beom Park, Sang-Min Lee, Jinkyeong Park, Sang Kook Lee, Jeong-Sup Song, Nam Joong Kim, Myoung-don Oh, Pyoeng Gyun Choe, Hong Sang Oh, Wan Beom Park, Sang-Min Lee, Jinkyeong Park, Sang Kook Lee, Jeong-Sup Song, Nam Joong Kim
Abstract
Since the first imported case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection was reported on May 20, 2015 in Korea, there have been 186 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS-CoV infection with 36 fatalities. Ninety-seven percent (181/186) of the cases had exposure to the health care facilities. We are reporting a superspreading event that transmitted MERS-CoV to 81 persons at a hospital emergency room (ER) during the Korean outbreak in 2015. The index case was a 35-yr-old man who had vigorous coughing while staying at the ER for 58 hr. As in severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreaks, superspreading events can cause a large outbreak of MERS in healthcare facilities with severe consequences. All healthcare facilities should establish and implement infection prevention and control measure as well as triage policies and procedures for early detection and isolation of suspected MERS-CoV cases.
Keywords: Coronavirus; Emergency Room; MERS; Prevention; Superspreading Event.
Conflict of interest statement
DISCLOSURE: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
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Source: PubMed