Hospital Outbreaks of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Daejeon, South Korea, 2015

Abstract

From May through July 2015, a total of 26 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome were reported from 2 hospitals in Daejeon, South Korea, including 1 index case and 25 new cases. We examined the epidemiologic features of these cases and found an estimated median incubation period of 6.1 days (8.8 days in hospital A and 4.6 days in hospital B). The overall attack rate was 3.7% (4.7% in hospital A and 3.0% in hospital B), and the attack rates among inpatients and caregivers in the same ward were 12.3% and 22.5%, respectively. The overall case-fatality rate was 44.0% (28.6% in hospital A and 63.6% in hospital B). The use of cohort quarantine may have played a role in preventing community spread, but additional transmission occurred among members of the hospital cohort quarantined together. Caregivers may have contributed in part to the transmission.

A Comparative Analysis of Factors Influencing Two Outbreaks of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Saudi Arabia and South Korea

“…The South Korean outbreak had stringent decontamination and isolation practices instilled in hospitals very soon after the onset of the outbreak, such as intra-hospital isolation, mandatory masks, gloves, and gowns for workers and visitors, and rapid laboratory assessments to confirm cases [43]. By July 2015, the MERS-CoV Infection Prevention and Control Guideline Development Committee was assembled and gathered in South Korea, joined by the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, the Korean Society of Healthcare-associated Infection, and the Korean Association of Infection Control Nurses, in a serious effort to stop nosocomial and community transmission through public information and proper isolation and decontamination procedures in hospitals [43][44][45]. This helped to regulate, monitor, and standardize the effort to reduce and eventually stop cases within hospitals and the surrounding community.…”

“…However, the same cannot be said for a relatively short outbreak that occurred in South Korea in 2015. The South Korean outbreak was imported by a 68-year old man who had recently travelled to Saudi Arabia, where he contracted MERS, and subsequently transmitted the virus throughout a South Korean hospital following admission [43][44][45]. In addition, the infected patient did travel through a number of hospitals throughout his travels, likely transmitting the virus to several institutions along the way [46].…”

The risk factors associated with MERS-CoV patient fatality: A global survey

“…Several published studies have assessed the epidemiological status of MERS-CoV infection. Most of these epidemiological studies were derived from specific cohorts with a small sample size, or carried out in a single medical center (Alraddadi et al 2016;Assiri et al 2013;Harriman et al 2013;Memish et al 2013;Mobaraki and Ahmadzadeh 2019b;Park et al 2017). However, numerous questions about the epidemiological status and associated risk factors of MERS-CoV at the global level remain unanswered.…”

Microorganism-ionizing respirator with reduced breathing resistance suitable for removing airborne bacteria

“…Exactly 100 years ago, the 1918 flu pandemic took its toll with at least 50 million dead and 500 million infected [1]. Recent airborne pathogenic viral outbreaks such as severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003 and middle east respiratory syndrome in 2015, managed to spread across tens of countries causing multiple deaths [2][3][4][5]. In addition to viruses, there arehighly contagious airborne bacteria that can be transmitted person-to-person, causing diseases such as whooping cough (Bordetella pertussis), diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheriae), and tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) [6][7][8].…”