Clinical and Epidemiologic Characteristics of Spreaders of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus during the 2015 Outbreak in Korea

Kang, Chang Kyung; Song, Kyoung-Ho; Choe, Pyoeng Gyun; Park, Wan Beom; Bang, Ji Hwan; Kim, Eu Suk; Park, Sang Won; Kim, Hong Bin; Kim, Nam Joong; Cho, Sung-il; Lee, Jong-koo; Oh, Myoung-don

The course of disease spread could not be determined in 10 patients, including 5 with an unidentified source of infection and 5 with more than one possible scenario. Excluding the first imported case, the courses of disease spread could be determined in 175 patients. Of them, 173 were infected at healthcare facilities (12 hospitals, 3 clinics, and 2 ambulances). The disease was transmitted to 2 remaining patients in household settings. The date of symptom onset could not be determined in 5 patients, including 2 patients who were asymptomatic and 3 with an ambiguous onset of MERS-CoV symptoms during another illness. Of the 15 spreaders, 5 and 8 cases were in the second-and third-chain of transmission, respectively ( Table 2) . Spreaders transmitted MERS-CoV from days 1 to 11 of their illness (median, 7 days; interquartile range [IQR], 5 to 8 days) (Fig. 1A) . The number of patients infected by each spreader ranged from 1 to 84 (IQR, 1 to 12).