Colorized transmission electron micrograph showing particles of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus that emerged in 2012. Credit: NIAID

Colorized transmission electron micrograph showing particles of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus that emerged in 2012. Credit: NIAID

Recently published data indicate a 2014 outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), that affected 78 people at a Saudi hospital was propelled by overcrowding, poor infection control and inconsistent separation of suspected cases.

Further analysis found the risk for transmission was similar within the hospital’s ED, inpatient areas and dialysis units, despite previously reported data implicating the dialysis units as a substantial risk factor for MERS infection.

“MERS-CoV, like other CoVs, is thought to spread through respiratory secretions; however, the precise ways the virus spreads are not well-understood,” the researchers wrote. “Most documented symptomatic infections have resulted from human-to-human transmission. Transmission among health care workers (HCWs), hospital inpatients, dialysis patients and families has been implicated in previous clusters.”