Surveillance and Testing for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, Saudi Arabia, April 2015-February 2016

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 23; no. 4; pp. 682 - 685
• Main Authors: Saeed, Abdulaziz A Bin, Abedi, Glen R, Alzahrani, Abdullah G, Salameh, Iyad, Abdirizak, Fatima, Alhakeem, Raafat, Algarni, Homoud, El Nil, Osman A, Mohammed, Mutaz, Assiri, Abdullah M, Alabdely, Hail M, Watson, John T, Gerber, Susan I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.04.2017; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; Child, Preschool; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Coronavirus Infections - virology; Diagnosis; Dispatch; Female; Humans; Male; Medical law; MERS-CoV; Middle Aged; Middle East respiratory syndrome; Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus - isolation & purification; Population Surveillance; Privacy; respiratory infections; Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia - epidemiology; surveillance; testing; Young Adult; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia; viruses; surveillance practices; transmission; testing; Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus; zoonoses; MERS-CoV; infection control; surveillance; respiratory infections
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2304.161793

Saudi Arabia has reported >80% of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases worldwide. During April 2015-February 2016, Saudi Arabia identified and tested 57,363 persons (18.4/10,000 residents) with suspected MERS-CoV infection; 384 (0.7%) tested positive. Robust, extensive, and timely surveillance is critical for limiting virus transmission.