TY - JOUR AU - Hastings, Deborah AU - Tokars, Jerome AU - Abdel Aziz, Inas Zakaria A.M. AU - Alkhaldi, Khulud AU - Bensadek, Areej AU - Alraddadi, Basem AU - Jokhdar, Hani AU - Jernigan, John AU - Garout, Mohammed AU - Tomczyk, Sara AU - Oboho, Ikwo AU - Geller, Andrew AU - Arinaminpathy, Nimalan AU - Swerdlow, David AU - Madani, Tariq T1 - Outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome at Tertiary Care Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2014 T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2016 VL - 22 IS - 5 SP - 794 SN - 1080-6059 AB - During March–May 2014, a Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak occurred in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that included many persons who worked or received medical treatment at King Fahd General Hospital. We investigated 78 persons who had laboratory-confirmed MERS during March 2–May 10 and documented contact at this hospital. The 78 persons with MERS comprised 53 patients, 16 healthcare workers, and 9 visitors. Among the 53 patients, the most probable sites of acquisition were the emergency department (22 patients), inpatient areas (17), dialysis unit (11), and outpatient areas (3). Infection control deficiencies included limited separation of suspected MERS patients, patient crowding, and inconsistent use of infection control precautions; aggressive improvements in these deficiencies preceded a decline in cases. MERS coronavirus transmission probably was multifocal, occurring in multiple hospital settings. Continued vigilance and strict application of infection control precautions are necessary to prevent future MERS outbreaks. KW - coronavirus infections KW - Saudi Arabia KW - infection control KW - outbreak KW - transmission KW - nosocomial KW - Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus KW - viruses KW - MERS-CoV KW - vector-borne infections DO - 10.3201/eid2205.151797 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/22/5/15-1797_article ER - End of Reference