Association of Higher MERS-CoV Virus Load with Severe Disease and Death, Saudi Arabia, 2014

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes a spectrum of illness. We evaluated whether cycle threshold (Ct) values (which are inversely related to virus load) were associated with clinical severity in patients from Saudi Arabia whose nasopharyngeal specimens tested positive for t...

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Published inEmerging infectious diseases Vol. 21; no. 11; pp. 2029 - 2035
Main Authors Feikin, Daniel R., Alraddadi, Basem, Qutub, Mohammed, Shabouni, Omaima, Curns, Aaron, Oboho, Ikwo K., Tomczyk, Sara M., Wolff, Bernard, Watson, John T., Madani, Tariq A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.11.2015
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Association of Higher MERS-CoV Virus Load with Severe Disease and Death, Saudi Arabia, 2014
Child
Coronavirus - genetics
Coronavirus - immunology
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections - immunology
Coronavirus Infections - mortality
Coronavirus Infections - virology
Expedited
Female
Humans
Male
Measurement
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
MERS-CoV
Middle Aged
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
Prognosis
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia - epidemiology
Viremia
virus load
viruses
zoonoses
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
zoonoses
viruses
MERS-CoV
virus load
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Summary:Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes a spectrum of illness. We evaluated whether cycle threshold (Ct) values (which are inversely related to virus load) were associated with clinical severity in patients from Saudi Arabia whose nasopharyngeal specimens tested positive for this virus by real-time reverse transcription PCR. Among 102 patients, median Ct of 31.0 for the upstream of the E gene target for 41 (40%) patients who died was significantly lower than the median of 33.0 for 61 survivors (p=0.0087). In multivariable regression analyses, risk factors for death were age>60 years), underlying illness, and decreasing Ct for each 1-point decrease in Ct). Results were similar for a composite severe outcome (death and/or intensive care unit admission). More data are needed to determine whether modulation of virus load by therapeutic agents affects clinical outcomes.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:1080-6040
1080-6059
DOI:10.3201/eid2111.150764