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

Fourth, experienced infection control personnel and an infection control system were lacking in small and medium-sized hospitals, because they are not legally required. The infection control system should preferably integrate infection control professionals and appropriate manuals, education, and PPE equipment training. Some hospitals did not have proper ventilation systems or windows in patient rooms [8] . Although a sufficient number of professionals with MERS-CoV awareness staffed the larger hospitals, these professionals were exposed to patients without the benefit of PPE, because they were not provided with adequate epidemiological information or training for the use of PPE. Infection control practices such as hand washing and procedures for isolating patients with acute respiratory illness were disregarded. Notably, the pattern of major disease spread in Korea encompassed both intra-or inter-hospital settings, sparing of the community transmission. A high infection rate among HCWs occurred in Saudi Arabia, where doctors and nurses sustained the greatest exposure to MERS-CoV infection [9] . However, a higher HCW infection rate (39/186, 21.0%) was reported during the Korean MERS-CoV outbreak.