Pediatr Infect Vaccine.  2015 Dec;22(3):131-135. 10.14776/piv.2015.22.3.131.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Outbreak in Korea, 2015

• Choi EH

• KMID: 2315676
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14776/piv.2015.22.3.131

Abstract

Since April 2012, more than 1,600 laboratory-confirmed human infections with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have been reported, occurring primarily in countries in the Arabian Peninsula; the majority in Saudi Arabia. The MERS outbreak in Korea, which began in May 2015 through the importation of a single case who had recently traveled to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. As of November 28th, 186 secondary and tertiary cases had been reported; 38 deaths, mainly associated with underlying chronic illnesses, were reported. One case was exported to China and has been recorded as the first MERS case in China. Thirty-seven confirmed cases were associated with the index case, who was hospitalized from May 15 to May 17. Emergency room at one of the nation's largest hospitals had been affected by hospital-to-hospital and intra-hospital transmissions of MERS-CoV, resulting in an outbreak of 90 infected patients. The vast majority of 186 confirmed cases are linked to a single transmission chain associated with health facilities. The median age of patients is 55 years, with a range of 16 to 87 years. The majority (61%) of patients are men. Twenty-five (14%) of the cases involve healthcare workers. The overall median incubation period was six days, but it was four days for secondary cases and six days for tertiary cases. There has been no evidence of airborne transmission and sustained human-to-human transmission in communities. Intensified public health measures, including contact tracing, quarantine and isolation of all contacts and suspected cases, and infection prevention and control have brought the MERSCoV under control in Korea. Since 4 July no new cases have been reported.

Keyword

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome; coronavirus; epidemiology

MeSH Terms

Bahrain
China
Chronic Disease
Contact Tracing
Coronavirus
Delivery of Health Care
Emergency Service, Hospital
Epidemiology
Health Facilities
Humans
Korea*
Male
Middle East*
Public Health
Qatar
Quarantine
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Confirmed cases of MERS-CoV infection that were reported to WHO as of October, 2015.

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  Fig. 2 Epicurve of MERS-CoV infected persons according to the date of onset, Korea, 2015.

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