Table 1.
Summary of evidence for the possible modes of transmission to #119
| Exposure | Possible modes of transmission (possible transmission periods) | Supporting evidence | Refuting evidence | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friend A of case #119 | Friend A infected in Saudi Arabia and transmitted to #119 (May 27-May 28) | Friend A complained of sore throat on May 5 and returned from Saudi Arabia to Korea on May 22 Close contact with #119 in addition to smoking together on May 27 and May 28 | No respiratory symptoms other than sore throat | Unlikely |
| Negative results of two sputum PCR tests for MERS | ||||
| Negative MERS antibody serological test results | ||||
| Pyeongtaek Police Station (#119’s workplace) | #119 infected in his workplace (May 17-May 29) | Within the incubation period | No confirmed MERS cases among the subjects investigated on the police team | Unlikely |
| No MERS cases among his colleagues | ||||
| No confirmed MERS cases visited the police station | ||||
| Pyeongtaek-city | #119 had community-acquired infection in Pyeongtaek-city (May 17-May 29) | Many MERS cases were in Pyeongtaek-city due to the outbreak in Pyeongtaek St. Mary’s Hospital | No confirmed MERS cases that spatially and temporally overlapped with #119 | Possible |
| Asan-city | #119 had community-acquired infection in Asan-city (May 17-May 29) | Residence of #119 Confirmed MERS cases in Asan-city | No confirmed MERS cases that spatially and temporally overlapped with #119 | Unlikely |
| Family of case #119 | #119 infected from his family (May 17-May 29) | His children visited a clinic in Asan-city for upper respiratory symptoms | His children improved and no MERS cases had visited the clinic | Unlikely |
| His wife had no respiratory symptoms | ||||
| GSBH | #119 infected in GSBH (May 31) | #22, #52 and #119 visited GSBH | #52 and #119 visited the ER of the hospital at different times | Unlikely |
| #22 was isolated in a different room of the hospital when #119 visited | ||||
| #119 did not smoke when he returned home | ||||
| SMC | #119 infected in SMC (June 3-June 4) | Assumed that the result of sputum PCR at June 1 was false positive | #119 was isolated in a different room from the other MERS cases | Unlikely |
| Difficult to explain pneumonic infiltration on June 5 | ||||
| Low possibility of that the result of sputum PCR performed on June 1 was false-positive |
Friend A works in Saudi Arabia and returned to Korea on May 22.
PCR, polymerase chain reaction; MERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome; GSBH, Good Samaritan Bagae Hospital; ER, emergency room; SMC, Seoul Medical Center.