Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28588290›Full record

ArticleEmerging microbes & infections2017

Comparative epidemiology of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

Xin Chen, Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, Amalie Dyda, Chandini Raina MacIntyre

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Emerging microbes & infections, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
58citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
8.0field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

58 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 88 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Xin ChenSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Abrar Ahmad ChughtaiSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Amalie DydaSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Chandini Raina MacIntyreSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
UNSW Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

MERS-CoV infection emerged in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in 2012 and has spread to 26 countries. However, 80% of all cases have occurred in KSA. The largest outbreak outside KSA occurred in South Korea (SK) in 2015. In this report, we describe an epidemiological comparison of the two outbreaks. Data from 1299 cases in KSA (2012-2015) and 186 cases in SK (2015) were collected from publicly available resources, including FluTrackers, the World Health Organization (WHO) outbreak news and the Saudi MOH (MOH). Descriptive analysis, t-tests, Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression were conducted to compare demographic and other characteristics (comorbidity, contact history) of cases by nationality. Epidemic curves of the outbreaks were generated. The mean age of cases was 51 years in KSA and 54 years in SK. Older males (⩾70 years) were more likely to be infected or to die from MERS-CoV infection, and males exhibited increased rates of comorbidity in both countries. The epidemic pattern in KSA was more complex, with animal-to-human, human-to-human, nosocomial and unknown exposure, whereas the outbreak in SK was more clearly nosocomial. Of the 1186 MERS cases in KSA with reported risk factors, 158 (13.3%) cases were hospital associated compared with 175 (94.1%) in SK, and an increased proportion of cases with unknown exposure risk was found in KSA (710, 59.9%). In a globally connected world, travel is a risk factor for emerging infections, and health systems in all countries should implement better triage systems for potential imported cases of MERS-CoV to prevent large epidemics.

Indexed as

EpidemicsMiddle East Respiratory Syndrome CoronavirusAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overChildChild, PreschoolCoronavirus InfectionsCross InfectionDatabases, FactualDisease OutbreaksFemaleGlobal HealthHospitalsHumans

Identifiers

PMID28588290
PMCPMC5520315
OpenAlexW2622319725

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.