Vol. 5 (07) pp. 2731-2736 DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/5017

MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS (MERS-COV) TRANSMISSION AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS: A LITERATURE REVIEW.

, , , and
  • Medical Student, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  • Assistant Consultant, Department of Infection Prevention and Control, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City - National Guard Health Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
18 Downloads 143 Views
Crossref

Download Full Paper (PDF)

Abstract

Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been frequently infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), yet little attention has been paid to how HCWs are acquiring the infection. Therefore, this review highlighted the global distribution of HCWs cases and the latest available data about how they are acquiring the infection. Ninety-eight English articles published from September 2012 to July 2016 on PubMed and Google Scholar, and 252 case reports from WHO website were reviewed. The current review estimated 1,810 MERS-CoV cases reported globally across 27 countries, including 356 (20%) HCWs distributed across 8 countries. Among these, 24% were in close contact with confirmed cases and 13% were not. However, most cases (63%) were undocumented. HCWs were mainly infected in the emergency department. According to documented data, working in high-risk departments, being in close contact with confirmed cases and non-adherence to infection control precautions are the most probable factors of transmission.

Article Analytics

References

  1. Al-Tawfiq JA, Perl TM. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in healthcare settings. Curr Opin Infect Dis 2015;28(4):392-6.
  2. Abdel-Moneim AS. Middle-East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: Is it worth a world panic? World journal of virology 2015;4(3):185.
  3. World Health Organization. Summary of current situation, literature update and risk assessment. 7 July 2015, http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/179184/2/WHO_MERS_RA_15.1_eng.pdf?ua=; 2015 [accessed 16.18.07].
  4. Sherbini N, Iskandrani A, Kharaba A, Khalid G, Abduljawad M, Al-Jahdali H. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in Medinah City, Saudi Arabia: Demographic, clinical and survival data. J Epidemiol Glob Health 2016.
  5. Zaki AM, Van Boheemen S, Bestebroer TM, Osterhaus ADME, Fouchier RAM. Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. N Engl J Med 2012;367(19):1814-20.
  6. Hijawi B, Abdallat M, Sayaydeh A, Alqasrawi S, Haddadin A, Jaarour N, et al. Novel coronavirus infections in Jordan, April 2012: epidemiological findings from a retrospective investigation/Infections par le nouveau coronavirus en Jordanie, avril 2012: r?sultats ?pid?miologiques d'une ?tude r?trospective. East Mediterr Health Journal 2013;19:S12.
  7. Suwantarat N, Apisarnthanarak A. Risks to healthcare workers with emerging diseases: lessons from MERS-CoV, Ebola, SARS, and avian flu. Curr Opin Infect Dis 2015;28(4):349-61.
  8. Mortazavi HS, Monavari SH, Ataei Pirkooh A, Tavakoli A. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV): A Review Article. Iran J Virol 2014;8(2):59-68.
  9. World Health Organization. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), http://www.who.int/emergencies/mers-cov/en/; 2016 [accessed 16.18.07].
  10. Shapiro M, London B, Nigri D, Shoss A, Zilber E, Fogel I. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: review of the current situation in the world. Disaster and Military Medicine 2016;2(1):1.
  11. Ministry Of Health. Command & Control Center: Statistics, http://www.moh.gov.sa/en/ccc/pressreleases/pages/default.aspx; 2016 [accessed 16.18.07].
  12. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Outbreak in the Republic of Korea, 2015. Osong Public Health Res Perspect 2015;6(4):269-78.
  13. Oboho IK, Tomczyk SM, Al-Asmari AM, Banjar AA, Al-Mugti H, Aloraini MS, et al. 2014 MERS-CoV outbreak in Jeddah?a link to health care facilities. N Engl J Med 2015;372(9):846-54.
  14. Balkhy HH. Notes from the Field: Nosocomial Outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in a Large Tertiary Care Hospital?Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2015. MMWR Morbidity and mortality weekly report 2016;65.
  15. World Health Organization. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) ? Bahrain. Disease Outbreak News, http://www.who.int/csr/don/25-april-2016-mers-bahrain/en/; 2016 [accessed 16.10.08].
  16. Shefer A, Atkinson W, Friedman C, Kuhar DT, Mootrey G, Bialek SR, et al. Immunization of health-care personnel: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR Recomm Rep 2011;60:1-45.
  17. Al-Tawfiq JA, Memish ZA. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: epidemiology and disease control measures. Infect Drug Resist 2014;7:281-7.
  18. World Health Organization. Situation update on Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus as of 30 June 2016, http://www.emro.who.int/surveillance-forecasting-response/surveillance-news/regional-situation-update-on-mers-31-june-2016.html.; 2016 [accessed 16.18.07].
  19. Van Doremalen N, Bushmaker T, Munster VJ. Stability of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) under different environmental conditions. Euro Surveill 2013;18(38):20590.
  20. Chowell G, Blumberg S, Simonsen L, Miller MA, Viboud C. Synthesizing data and models for the spread of MERS-CoV, 2013: key role of index cases and hospital transmission. Epidemics 2014;9:40-51.
  21. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Hospitalized Patients with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/infection-prevention-control.html; 2015 [accessed 16.13.08].
  22. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS): Symptoms & Complications, http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/about/symptoms.html; 2016 [accessed 16.21.07].
  23. Banik GR, Khandaker G, Rashid H. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus ?MERS-CoV?: current knowledge gaps. Paediatr Respir Rev 2015;16(3):197-202.
  24. Memish ZA, Zumla AI, Assiri A. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infections in health care workers. N Engl J Med 2013;369(9):884-6.
  25. Khalid I, Khalid TJ, Qabajah MR, Barnard AG, Qushmaq IA. Healthcare Workers Emotions, Perceived Stressors and Coping Strategies During MERS-CoV Outbreak. Clin Med Res 2016:cmr. 2016.1303.
  26. Al-Tawfiq JA, Memish ZA. Infection control measures for the prevention of MERS coronavirus transmission in healthcare settings. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2016;14(3):281-3.
  27. Almutairi KM, Al Helih EM, Moussa M, Boshaiqah AE, Alajilan AS, Vinluan JM, et al. Awareness, attitudes, and practices related to coronavirus pandemic among public in Saudi Arabia. Fam Community Health 2015;38(4):332-40.
  28. Cowling BJ, Park M, Fang VJ, Wu P, Leung GM, Wu JT. Preliminary epidemiologic assessment of MERS-CoV outbreak in South Korea, May?June 2015. Euro surveillance: bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles= European communicable disease bulletin 2015;20(25).
  29. Hunter JC, Nguyen D, Aden B, Al Bandar Z, Al Dhaheri W, Elkheir KA, et al. Transmission of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infections in Healthcare Settings, Abu Dhabi. Emerg Infect Dis 2016;22(4):647.
  30. Noorwali AA, Turkistani AM, Asiri SI, Trabulsi FA, Alwafi OM, Alzahrani SH, et al. Descriptive epidemiology and characteristics of confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in the Makkah Region of Saudi Arabia, March to June 2014. Ann Saudi Med 2015;35(3):203.
  31. World Health Organization. Coronavirus Infection. Disease Outbreak News, http://www.who.int/csr/don/archive/disease/coronavirus_infections/en/; 2016 [accessed 16.18.07].
  32. Hastings DL, Tokars JI, Aziz IZAMA, Alkhaldi KZ, Bensadek AT, Alraddadi BM, et al. Outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome at Tertiary Care Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2014. Emerg Infect Dis 2016;22(5):794.
  33. Al-Hameed F, Wahla AS, Siddiqui S, Ghabashi A, Al-Shomrani M, Al-Thaqafi A, et al. Characteristics and outcomes of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus patients admitted to an intensive care unit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. J Intensive Care Med 2015:0885066615579858.
  34. Drosten C, Muth D, Corman VM, Hussain R, Al Masri M, HajOmar W, et al. An observational, laboratory-based study of outbreaks of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in Jeddah and Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2014. Clin Infect Dis 2015;60(3):369-77.
  35. Assiri A, Abedi GR, Saeed AAB, Abdalla MA, al-Masry M, Choudhry AJ, et al. Multifacility outbreak of middle east respiratory syndrome in Taif, Saudi Arabia. Emerg Infect Dis 2016;22(1):32.
  36. Arabi YM, Arifi AA, Balkhy HH, Najm H, Aldawood AS, Ghabashi A, et al. Clinical course and outcomes of critically ill patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection. Ann Intern Med 2014;160(6):389-97.
  37. Fagbo SF, Skakni L, Chu DKW, Garbati MA, Joseph M, Peiris M, et al. Molecular epidemiology of hospital outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2014. Emerg Infect Dis 2015;21(11):1981.
  38. Assiri A, McGeer A, Perl TM, Price CS, Al Rabeeah AA, Cummings DAT, et al. Hospital outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. N Engl J Med 2013;369(5):407-16.
  39. Assiri A, Al-Tawfiq JA, Al-Rabeeah AA, Al-Rabiah FA, Al-Hajjar S, Al-Barrak A, et al. Epidemiological, demographic, and clinical characteristics of 47 cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease from Saudi Arabia: a descriptive study. The Lancet infectious diseases 2013;13(9):752-61.
  40. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Interim Guidance for Healthcare Professionals, http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/interim-guidance.html; 2016 [accessed 16.13.07].
  41. Shalhoub S, Abdraboh S, Palma R, AlSharif H, Assiri N. MERS-CoV in a healthcare worker in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: an index case investigation. J Hosp Infect 2016;93(3):309-12.

How to Cite This Article

Ghufran A. Abudawood, Weaam S. Magram, Afnan O. Aludaini, Fatima A. Badawi and Mutasim G. Mohamed. (2017); MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS (MERS-COV) TRANSMISSION AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS: A LITERATURE REVIEW., Int. J. of Adv. Res., 5 (07), 2731-2736, ISSN 2320-5407. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/5017

Corresponding Author

Ghufran Abdulhaleem Abudawood
Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.