Mortality Risk Factors for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Outbreak, South Korea, 2015

Abstract

As of July 15, 2015, the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare had reported 186 case-patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome in South Korea. For 159 case-patients with known outcomes and complete case histories, we found that older age and preexisting concurrent health conditions were risk factors for death.

Keywords: MERS; MERS coronavirus; Middle East respiratory syndrome; South Korea; disease outbreak; infections; mortality risk factors; viruses.

Figure 1

New case-patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome, South Korea, by date of symptom onset and patient status, as of July 15, 2015. When date of symptom onset was unavailable, date of reporting was used. Although all 186 reported case-patients are included in this plot, only case-patients with known outcomes (e.g., recovered, died) and dates of onset were included in the analyses (n = 159).

Figure 2

Cumulative proportion of case-patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome who were hospitalized, recovered, and died, South Korea, as of July 15, 2015. Total cumulative cases over time were calculated by date of symptom onset. When date of onset was unavailable, date of reporting was used. Cumulative recoveries and deaths over time were calculated by date of outcome; when date of outcome was unavailable, date of reporting was used. Although all 186 reported case-patients are included in this plot, only case-patients with known outcomes (e.g., recovered, died) and dates of onset were included in the analyses (n = 159).