Infection control and prevention practices implemented to reduce transmission risk of Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus in a tertiary care institution in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Adhering to a combination of B-IC and A-IC reduces the risk of MERS-CoV transmission to HCWs.

Evaluation of preparedness of healthcare student volunteers against Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study

“…The concern showed by participants in this study also reflects their awareness about pathogen transmission (Butt et al 2016). Transmission of MERS infection from infected patients to healthcare professionals has been confirmed in previous studies (Assiri et al 2013; Memish et al 2013a, b).…”

Infection control influence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: A hospital-based analysis

“…8 Although a few articles have addressed the preparedness of hospitals to face MERS, there are no data on the impact of MERS-CoV on infection control resources within hospitals. 9,10 Here, we study the infection control influence of MERS-CoV by analyzing data on specific infection control parameters using a hospital-based analysis.…”

MERS coronavirus outbreak: Implications for emerging viral infections

“…Extended outbreaks of the disease have been focused on healthcare facilities, with transmission apparently dependent on close human-to-human contact (Almekhlafi et al, 2016;Assiri et al, 2013a;Balkhy et al, 2016a;Drosten et al, 2015;Fagbo et al, 2015;Oboho et al, 2015). The emergence of this disease has therefore had a profound impact on infection control and prevention procedures in KSA as outbreaks in healthcare facilities have been associated with defective or inadequate infection prevention and control measures (Balkhy et al, 2016b;Butt et al, 2016;Cotten et al, 2014;Hastings et al, 2016).…”

“…Problems which were identified included emergency room overcrowding and neglect of basic infection and prevention control measures such as handwashing (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), 2018). The KSA Ministry of Health updated guidelines for infection prevention and control in line with WHO recommendations (Butt et al, 2016;Hastings et al, 2016). The Ministry of Health now specifies that "Standard Precautions" should be adhered to in all patient interactions within hospitals, and that these should be further supplemented with the specific precautions for suspected or confirmed MERS-CoV cases (Scientific Advisory Board, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, n.d.).…”

“…The majority of cases were attributable to contact with a health care facility, other patients, or both, highlighting the role of healthcare facilities in human-to-human transmission that also arose in subsequent outbreaks, including hospital outbreaks in Riyadh and the 2015 outbreak in Korea (Oboho et al, 2015;Drosten et al, 2015;Fagbo et al, 2015;Almekhlafi et al, 2016;Balkhy et al, 2016a; Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) -Republic of Korea, 2015). As explained above, healthcare facility human-to-human transmission has been associated with defective or inadequate infection prevention and control measures (Scientific Advisory Board, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, n.d.; Balkhy et al, 2016b;Butt et al, 2016;Coronavirus infections, 2017;Cotten et al, 2014;Hastings et al, 2016). The infection tends to be milder in secondary cases, in which a patient is infected as a result of close contact with a primary source, and can even be asymptomatic.…”