Seroprevalence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in public health workers responding to a MERS outbreak in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in 2015

Abstract

a Seoul Center for Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, Seoul, Republic of Korea. b Department of Epidemiology, Seoul National University School of Public Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea. c Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. d Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. e Seoul Metropolitan Government Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, Seoul, Republic of Korea. f Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cheongju, Republic of Korea. g Division of Infectious Diseases, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Submitted: 23 September 2018; Published: 6 June 2019 doi: 10.5365/wpsar.2017.8.1.008 The first case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the Republic of Korea was confirmed in May 2015 after a traveller returned from the Middle East.1 There were 186 cases, including 38 deaths, within two months.1 The potential of a single MERS-confirmed patient to result in such a large MERS outbreak constitutes a serious global health concern.2