Zeitschrift für Infektionskrankheiten und Präventivmedizin
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Abstrakt

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome: Global Outbreak Data Analysis

Sami Alsolamy, Sami Yousif, Badr Alotabi, Nawfal Aljerian, Khaled Alrajhi, Sameerah Al-Somali and Abdulmohsen Alsaawi

Background: The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a new human disease initially reported from the Arabian Peninsula in September 2012. Since then, the disease has spread worldwide. We present the available demographic and epidemiological data reported by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Methods: We abstracted and analyzed all disease outbreak news archives from WHO about MERS-CoV between September 23, 2012 and December 4, 2015.

Results: One thousand six cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) were identified, with an average age of 52.7 years and where males comprised 68.1% of the cases. Comorbidities and healthcare workers reported in 47.1% and 15.5% of cases respectively. History of camel contact was reported in 9.8% of cases and contact with a laboratory confirmed MERS-CoV case was reported in 21.6% of cases. The overall mean (SD) from symptoms onset to date of laboratory confirmation was 5.2 days (4.2 days), CI 95% [4.9-5.6].

Conclusion: Our analyses demonstrated males are predominately affected by this disease. Observing the period from date of symptoms onset to date of laboratory confirmation was shorter among female patients and patients without comorbidities. In addition, it was significantly shorter in 2015 compared with 2014. Further analysis of an available MERS-CoV database could provide better understanding and guidance for future research activities.