Surveillance and Testing for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, Saudi Arabia, March 2016-March 2019

Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 Jul;26(7):1571-1574. doi: 10.3201/eid2607.200437.

Abstract

During March 2016-March 2019, a total of 200,936 suspected cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection were identified in Saudi Arabia; infections were confirmed in 698 cases (0.3% [0.7/100,000 population per year]). Continued surveillance is necessary for early case detection and timely infection control response.

Keywords: MERS-CoV; Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus; Saudi Arabia; coronavirus; respiratory infections; surveillance; testing; viruses; zoonoses.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Contact Tracing
  • Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus
  • Population Surveillance / methods*
  • Saudi Arabia / epidemiology
  • Young Adult