Title: Isolation criteria for MERS-CoV<br/>Author: Andrea Tenner<br/><a href='http://umem.org/profiles/faculty/1069/'>[Click to email author]</a><hr/><p>
<strong><em>Case Presentation:</em></strong></p>
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A 56y/o man with diabetes presents with fever, cough, and diarrhea x 2 days. </p>
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V/S: T:38.7 BP:165/88 P: 105 R:24 O2 sat:91% on room air</p>
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CXR: left lower lobe infiltrate. </p>
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On further history you learn he has just returned from visiting family in Saudi Arabia 7 days ago. While there, he visited a cousin that was ill. </p>
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<strong><em>Clinical Question:</em></strong></p>
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Should this patient be isolated for Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome – Corona Virus (MERS-CoV)?</p>
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<strong><em>Answer:</em></strong></p>
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Yes, there are 150 cases to date and 64 have died. None confirmed in the US yet but 6 confirmed in Europe.</p>
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Patients who should be isolated in an airborne iso room with N95 mask use (similar to TB) are:</p>
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Patients with fever + pneumonia/ARDS AND one of the following:</p>
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Travel to the Arabian Peninsula within 14 days of symptom onset</li>
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Close contact with a person with fever and respiratory illness within 14 days of travel to the Arabian Peninsula</li>
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Member of a cluster of patients with severe ARI being evaluated for MERS-CoV</li>
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<strong><em>Bottom Line:</em></strong></p>
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In patients with febrile respiratory illness requiring hospitalization and recent travel to the Arabian Peninsula: isolate for MERS-CoV and contact the health department.</p>
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<strong>University of Maryland Section of Global Emergency Health</strong></p>
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<strong>Author: Jenny Reifel Saltzberg</strong></p>
<fieldset><legend>References</legend>
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Assiri A, et al. Epidemiological, demographic, and clinical characteristics of 47 cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease from Saudi Arabia: a descriptive study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2013 Sep;13(9):752-61.</p>
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<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/MERS/index.html">http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/MERS/index.html</a></p>
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<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6238a4.htm">http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6238a4.htm</a></p>
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