Transmission of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infections among healthcare personnel in the Middle East: A systematic review

Syed Ata Ur Rahman

doi:10.4314/tjpr.v17i4.24

Abstract

Purpose: To undertake a systematic review of the high mortality rate of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infections (MERS-CoV) among healthcare personnel in the Middle East.Methods: To conduct this systematic review various electronic databases were searched for earlier recorded studies. Prisma guidelines were used to shortlist the studies based on the inclusion and exclusion criterion. Finally, twelve studies were selected and analysed for the systematic review.Results: Twelve articles were selected after filtering 184 articles on Coronavirus. The studies chosen for this systematic review which outline the transmission information of MERS-CoV among health care personnel. A majority of studies were from Saudi Arabia, as the prevalence of Mers-CoV in Saudi Arabia is higher than in other countries in the region. Mers-CoV transmission into humans was mainly expected from infected dromedary camels.Conclusion: The results indicate that the use of infection control procedures and protocols, which include ensuring that all persons with respiratory infection symptoms adhere to respiratory hygiene, hand hygiene, and cough etiquette, would minimize the infection rate among HCPs. The required consumables for maintaining hand hygiene should be readily available to all HCPs.Keywords: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Systematic review, healthcareassociated infections, Coronaviruses, Health care personnel

Highlights

The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a recently described virus in humans [1,2]
Numerous cases in many countries around the world have been reported like Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Austria, but Saudi Arabia is the primary source [2,3].Coronaviruses generally effectuated mild upper respiratory illnesses [1]
A total of ten articles were from Saudi Arabia from different cities mostly from Jeddah, one from United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) and one from Arabian Peninsula

Summary

Introduction

The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a recently described virus in humans [1,2]. The occurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) has drawn universal recognition on the clinical importance of coronaviruses (4). The signs and symptoms in most cases are flulike syndromes, but in more severe cases lifethreatening disease occurs, like SARS and pneumonia [5,6]. Coronaviruses constitute a significant cause of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) which occurs not just in humans and found in a range of farm animals including chicken. MERS is reported to be found in camels which serves as a reservoir for the virus [7]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion