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. 2015 Dec;47(4):247-51.
doi: 10.3947/ic.2015.47.4.247. Epub 2015 Dec 30.

The Same Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) yet Different Outbreak Patterns and Public Health Impacts on the Far East Expert Opinion from the Rapid Response Team of the Republic of Korea

The Same Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) yet Different Outbreak Patterns and Public Health Impacts on the Far East Expert Opinion from the Rapid Response Team of the Republic of Korea

Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, and Korean Society for Healthcare-associated Infection Control and Prevention. Infect Chemother. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

A Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak, the largest outbreak outside the Middle East in 2012, occurred in the Republic of Korea and resulted in a large number of cases, with 186 infected people, including 38 deaths. A Rapid Response Team (RRT) was appointed after a request from the Korean government on June 8, 2015 calling for specialists to manage and control the MERS-CoV outbreak. This report presents the opinion of the RRT who worked to manage this healthcare-associated MERS-CoV outbreak in Korea.

Keywords: Epidemics; Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus; Public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: No conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Epidemic curve of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection according to date of symptom onset and main timeline events in South Korea as of August 23th, 2015.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Organizations involved in controlling the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in South Korea.

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