Table 2. Comparison of potential exposure factors among the three patient groups.
| Characteristics | 1.Positive HCW cases (N = 23) | 2.Positive non-HCW cases (N = 25) | 3.Negative cases (N = 111) | p-value (1 vs 2) | p-value (2 vs 3) | p-value (1+2 vs 3) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | (%) | n | (%) | n | (%) | ||||
| Travel history | 0 | (0%) | 1 | (5%) | 14 | (15%) | 0.48 | 0.30 | 0.04 |
| Animal exposure history# | 1 | (4%) | 2 | (10%) | 0 | (0%) | 0.59 | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Exposed to a health care setting* | 23 | (100%) | 21 | (95%) | 58 | (62%) | 0.98 | 0.01 | <0.01 |
| Exposure duration | >0.99 | 0.04 | 0.01 | ||||||
| 0-4hr | 6 | (26%) | 5 | (23%) | 45 | (50%) | |||
| > = 5hrs | 17 | (74%) | 17 | (77%) | 45 | (50%) | |||
*-two weeks prior to onset of illness
# Animal exposure of HCW was to a dog and of non-HCW with MERS was to a camel and poultry