Assiri Abdullah, Abedi Glen R, Bin Saeed Abdulaziz A, Abdalla Mutwakil A, al-Masry Malak, Choudhry Abdul Jamil, Lu Xiaoyan, Erdman Dean D, Tatti Kathleen, Binder Alison M, Rudd Jessica, Tokars Jerome, Miao Congrong, Alarbash Hussain, Nooh Randa, Pallansch Mark, Gerber Susan I, Watson John T
Emerg Infect Dis. 2016 Jan;22(1):32-40. doi: 10.3201/eid2201.151370.
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a novel respiratory pathogen first reported in 2012. During September 2014-January 2015, an outbreak of 38 cases of MERS was reported from 4 healthcare facilities in Taif, Saudi Arabia; 21 of the 38 case-patients died. Clinical and public health records showed that 13 patients were healthcare personnel (HCP). Fifteen patients, including 4 HCP, were associated with 1 dialysis unit. Three additional HCP in this dialysis unit had serologic evidence of MERS-CoV infection. Viral RNA was amplified from acute-phase serum specimens of 15 patients, and full spike gene-coding sequencing was obtained from 10 patients who formed a discrete cluster; sequences from specimens of 9 patients were closely related. Similar gene sequences among patients unlinked by time or location suggest unrecognized viral transmission. Circulation persisted in multiple healthcare settings over an extended period, underscoring the importance of strengthening MERS-CoV surveillance and infection-control practices.
中东呼吸综合征（MERS）冠状病毒（MERS-CoV）是2012年首次报告的一种新型呼吸道病原体。在2014年9月至2015年1月期间，沙特阿拉伯塔伊夫的4家医疗机构报告了38例MERS疫情；38例病例中有21例死亡。临床和公共卫生记录显示，13名患者为医护人员（HCP）。包括4名医护人员在内的15名患者与1个透析单元有关。该透析单元的另外3名医护人员有MERS-CoV感染的血清学证据。从15名患者的急性期血清标本中扩增出病毒RNA，并从形成一个离散集群的10名患者中获得了完整的刺突基因编码序列；9名患者标本的序列密切相关。在时间或地点上没有关联的患者之间存在相似的基因序列，提示存在未被识别的病毒传播。病毒在多个医疗机构中长期持续传播，凸显了加强MERS-CoV监测和感染控制措施的重要性。
