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

To obtain effective control of the MERS-CoV outbreak (Fig. 2) , the government of the Republic of Korea summoned a Rapid Response Team (RRT) on June 8, 2015. The RRT was composed of 15 infectious disease (ID) doctors and two infection control professionals affiliated with the Korean Society for Infectious Diseases and the Korean Society for Healthcare-associated Infection Control and Prevention. The RRT established national infection control and prevention guidelines for the diagnosis and management of MERS-CoV infection. The team proposed a national pneumonia surveillance plan to detect hidden MERS-CoV infections on June 10, 2015 in addition to the maintenance of universal MERS screening tests for each newly affected hospital. The RRT also recommended that risk assessment accompany all laboratory confirmed cases of MERS-CoV infection to determine the type of and need for quarantine measures for these hospitals. RRT members, in cooperation with the epidemiology investigation team of the local government, discussed control strategies with hospital authorities, which included: (1) contact tracing, (2) surveillance polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of healthcare workers (HCWs) and patients according to their level of contact, (3) preemptive isolation of pneumonia cases, (4) environmental disinfection, and (5) cleaning and enforcing the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among HCWs. After carefully monitoring daily action plans and their outcomes for 14 days, the RRT reassessed the hospital infection control measures for MERS-CoV and decided whether to cease any current quarantine measures.