Asymptomatic Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus infection using a serologic survey in Korea.
- Author:
Yeong Jun SONG
1
;
Jeong Sun YANG
;
Hee Jung YOON
;
Hae Sung NAM
;
Soon Young LEE
;
Hae Kwan CHEONG
;
Woo Jung PARK
;
Sung Han PARK
;
Bo Youl CHOI
;
Sung Soon KIM
;
Moran KI
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Asymptomatic infection; Epidemiology; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus; Nosocomial infections; Outbreak; Enzyme-linked immunespecific assay
- MeSH: Asymptomatic Infections; Coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections*; Cross Infection; Delivery of Health Care; Epidemiology; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Humans; Hypertension; Inpatients; Korea*; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus*; Middle East*; Osteoarthritis
- From:Epidemiology and Health 2018;40(1):e2018014-
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: OBJECTIVES: The rates of asymptomatic infection with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus vary. A serologic study was conducted to determine the asymptomatic MERS infection rate in healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers by exposure status. METHODS: Study participants were selected from contacts of MERS patients based on a priority system in 4 regions strongly affected by the 2015 MERS outbreak. A sero-epidemiological survey was performed in 1,610 contacts (average duration from exposure to test, 4.8 months), and the collected sera were tested using an enzyme-linked immunespecific assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence assay (IFA), and plaque reduction neutralization antibody test (PRNT). Among the 1,610 contacts, there were 7 ELISA-positive cases, of which 1 exhibited positive IFA and PRNT results. RESULTS: The asymptomatic infection rate was 0.060% (95% confidence interval, 0.002 to 0.346). The asymptomatic MERS case was a patient who had been hospitalized with patient zero on the same floor of the hospital at the same time. The case was quarantined at home for 2 weeks after discharge, and had underlying diseases, including hypertension, angina, and degenerative arthritis. CONCLUSIONS: The asymptomatic infection was acquired via healthcare-associated transmission. Thus, it is necessary to extend serologic studies to include inpatient contacts who have no symptoms.
