Journal Article

2014 MERS-CoV Outbreak in Jeddah — A Link to Health Care Facilities

Al-Asmari, Ahmad M, Almohammadi, Emad L, Swerdlow, David L, Gerber, Susan I, Tomczyk, Sara M, Alkhaldi, Khulud Z, Aloraini, Muhannad S, Madani, Tariq A, Watson, John T, Oboho, Ikwo K, Alraddadi, Basem M, Banjar, Ayman A, Al-Mugti, Hani

2015

Overview

A substantial increase in Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections in Saudi Arabia in 2014 raised concern about further spread of the disease. An investigation showed that health care–associated transmission was an important element in this outbreak. The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), an emerging novel betacoronavirus belonging to lineage C, is known to cause severe acute respiratory illness in humans. From the time the disease was first identified in 2012, mortality among patients with laboratory-confirmed infection has been reported to be approximately 30 to 40%. 1 , 2 As of this writing, cases have been linked to seven countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula, and the majority of reported cases have been from Saudi Arabia. 3 , 4 A zoonotic origin of MERS-CoV has been presumed on the basis of evidence to date. The reservoir, mechanism of transmission, . . .

• Publisher: Massachusetts Medical Society
• Subject: Adult / Aged / Asymptomatic / Coronaviridae / Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology / Coronavirus Infections - transmission / Coronaviruses / Cross Infection - epidemiology / Disease Outbreaks / Disease transmission / Epidemiology / Female / Health facilities / Humans / Infection Control / Infections / Infectious Disease Transmission, Professional-to-Patient / Male / Middle Aged / Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus / Outbreaks / Personnel / Respiratory diseases / Saudi Arabia - epidemiology / Zoonoses