Evaluation of visual triage for screening of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus patients

Alfaraj, S.H.; Al-Tawfiq, J.A.; Gautret, P.; Alenazi, M.G.; Asiri, A.Y.; Memish, Z.A.

The current study, conducted on a large number of patients, showed that clinical scoring is not predictive of MERS infection. Our results are robust and confirm that MERS cannot be distinguished from other respiratory infections on the basis of risk factors and clinical features. Thus, all patients with nonspecific symptoms in a MERS-endemic area will have to be isolated until MERS can be ruled out by PCR testing. This strategy has important consequences in terms of public health, notably in order to limit the transmission of MERS in the healthcare setting. This is particularly relevant in countries where access to rapid diagnosis is scarce. Meanwhile, until point-of-care MERS-CoV testing is made available, triage of patients on the basis of the current MoH triage score should be revised to a robust scoring system.