Middle East respiratory syndrome clinical practice guideline for hemodialysis facilities

Park, Hayne Cho; Lee, Young-Ki; Lee, Sang-Ho; Yoo, Kyung Don; Jeon, Hee Jung; Ryu, Dong-Ryeol; Kim, Seong Nam; Sohn, Seung Hwan; Chun, Rho Won; Choi, Kyu Bok

The Korean Society of Nephrology participated in the task force team consisting of government authorities and civilian experts to prevent and control the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2015. The Korean Society of Nephrology MERS Task Force Team took an immediate action and drafted ‘the clinical recommendation for hemodialysis facilities’ to follow when the first and the only confirmed case was reported in the hemodialysis unit. Owing to the dedicated support from medical doctors, dialysis nurses, and related medical companies, we could prevent further transmission of MERS infection successfully in hemodialysis units. This special report describes the experience of infection control during MERS outbreak in 2015 and summarizes the contents of ‘the clinical practice guideline for hemodialysis facilities dealing with MERS patients’ built upon our previous experience.