Volume 23, Number 9—September 2017
Dispatch
Conveyance Contact Investigation for Imported Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Cases, United States, May 2014
Susan A. Lippold
, Tina Objio, Laura A. Vonnahme, Faith Washburn, Nicole J. Cohen, Tai-Ho Chen, Paul J. Edelson, Reena K. Gulati, Christa Hale, Jennifer Harcourt, Lia M. Haynes, Amy Jewett, Robynne Jungerman, Katrin S. Kohl, Congrong Miao, Nicolette Pesik, Joanna J. Regan, Efrosini Roland, Chris Schembri, Eileen Schneider, Azaibi Tamin, Kathleen Tatti, and Francisco Alvarado-Ramy
, Tina Objio, Laura A. Vonnahme, Faith Washburn, Nicole J. Cohen, Tai-Ho Chen, Paul J. Edelson, Reena K. Gulati, Christa Hale, Jennifer Harcourt, Lia M. Haynes, Amy Jewett, Robynne Jungerman, Katrin S. Kohl, Congrong Miao, Nicolette Pesik, Joanna J. Regan, Efrosini Roland, Chris Schembri, Eileen Schneider, Azaibi Tamin, Kathleen Tatti, and Francisco Alvarado-Ramy
Table 1
CDC case and contact definitions during MERS contact investigations*
| Status |
Definition |
Signs and symptoms |
|---|---|---|
| Index case | Laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV infection in a person who traveled by commercial aircraft or bus while symptomatic. A traveler who tested positive for MERS-CoV was considered to have been contagious if symptomatic while on the conveyance. | Fever (>38°C [>100.4°F]) or feverishness;† or symptoms of acute respiratory illness (i.e., cough, shortness of breath, rhinorrhea, sore throat); or myalgia, malaise; or gastrointestinal symptoms (i.e., nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting). |
| Conveyance contact | A person who traveled on the same conveyance as the index case-patient and who had: | |
| Category 1 | Compatible symptoms within 2–14 d after the flight or bus ride. | Fever (>38°C [100.4°F]) or feverishness; or symptoms of acute respiratory illness (i.e., cough, shortness of breath, rhinorrhea, sore throat); or myalgia, malaise; or gastrointestinal symptoms (i.e., nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting). |
| Category 2 | Unrelated symptoms. | An illness before the flight or an illness with onset either <2 d or >14 d after the flight; or symptoms attributable to a chronic illness; or symptoms that were musculoskeletal, neurologic, or dermatologic in origin. |
| Category 3 |
No symptoms. |
|
| Patient under investigation‡ |
Clinical features (severe or milder illness), including fever and respiratory symptoms, and epidemiologic risk factors, including travel, healthcare setting, and contact history. |
|
| Incubation period for MERS-CoV infection | 2–14 d after exposure. |
*CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; MERS, Middle East respiratory syndrome; MERS-CoV, MERS coronavirus.
†A subjective sense of fever.
‡From (3).
Page created: August 17, 2017
Page updated: August 17, 2017
Page reviewed: August 17, 2017
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