Table 2. Comparison of epidemiologic characteristics between non-spreaders and spreaders, or usual-spreaders and super-spreaders during the 2015 Korean outbreak of MERS-CoV.
| Epidemiologic characteristics | Non-spreader (n = 171) | Spreader (n = 15) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual-spreader (n = 10) | Super-spreader (n = 5) | Non-spreader vs. spreader | Usual-spreader vs. super-spreader | ||
| Phase in chain of transmission | 0.003 | 0.058 | |||
| Primary | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (20.0) | ||
| Secondary | 25 (14.6) | 2 (22.2) | 3 (60.0) | ||
| Tertiary | 116 (67.8) | 7 (77.8) | 1 (20.0) | ||
| Quaternary | 23 (13.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Undetermined | 7 (4.1) | 1 (10.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Symptom onset after June 7* | 48 (28.9) | 3 (30.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.466 | 0.999 |
| Median incubation period, day, mean (± SD)† | 7.4 (± 4.5) | 7.8 (± 2.6) | 8.0 (± 5.0) | 0.716 | 0.905 |
| Symptom onset to isolation, day, median (IQR)* | 2.0 (1.0–6.0) | 5.0 (3.8–5.8) | 8.0 (4.0–9.0) | 0.057 | 0.267 |
| Nonisolated in-hospital days, median (IQR) | 0.0 (0.0–2.0) | 2.0 (0.8–4.5) | 7.0 (4.0–9.0) | < 0.001 | 0.061 |
| Nonisolated in-hospital days ≥ 2 day | 54 (31.6) | 6 (60.0) | 5 (100.0) | 0.003 | 0.999 |
| Symptom onset to diagnosis, day, mean (± SD)* | 6.5 (± 3.9) | 7.5 (± 2.6) | 8.8 (± 3.4) | 0.178 | 0.400 |
Data shown are number (%) not otherwise specified.
MERS-CoV = Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, SD = standard deviation, IQR = interquartile range.
*Data were unavailable in 5 cases (2.7%); †Data were unavailable in 7 cases (3.8%).