Infect Chemother.  2016 Mar;48(1):61-69. 10.3947/ic.2016.48.1.61.

Guidelines for the Laboratory Diagnosis of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in Korea

• Lee H
• Ki CS
• Sung H
• Kim S
• Seong MW
• Yong D
• Kim JS
• Lee MK
• Kim MN
• Choi JR
• Kim JH
• The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine MERS-CoV Task Force

• KMID: 2170520
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2016.48.1.61

Abstract

The recent outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in Korea was unexpected that laboratory response had to be built up urgently during the outbreak. The outbreak was almost all healthcare-associated, which was aggravated by lack of availability in laboratory diagnosis of MERS-CoV on site. On behalf of the MERS joint public and private sector response committee (MERS Joint committee), the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine (KSLM) launched a MERS response task force (MERS KSLM TF) to facilitate clinical laboratories set up MERS molecular diagnosis. MERS TF established guidelines for laboratory diagnosis of MERS-CoV and provided it to all participating laboratories as the official guidance of MERS Joint committee. This guideline was used for procedure manual of molecular diagnosis of MERS-CoV and laboratory safety manual.

Keyword

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus; The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine; Task force; Molecular diagnosis; Guideline

MeSH Terms

Advisory Committees
Clinical Laboratory Techniques*
Coronavirus*
Diagnosis
Joints
Korea*
Middle East*
Private Sector

Reference

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3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Interim guidelines for collecting, handling, and testing clinical specimens from patients under investigation (PUIs) for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) - Version 2.1. Accessed 12 October 2015. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/downloads/guidelines-clinical-specimens.pdf.

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