Credit Dr. Ian Mackay VDU BLog
# 8470
One of the `red flags’ we’ve looked for over the years with disease outbreaks like SARS and Avian Flu is the number of Health Care Workers (HCWs) that contract the illness. While HCWs are far more apt to come in contact with infectious patients during an outbreak, they are also (presumably) following infection control protocols that should help to protect them.
I say `Presumably’ because quality of and adherence to these protocols varies considerably depending on where in the world we look. In some developing countries, PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment) like disposable masks, gloves, and gowns are often in short supply.
But in the Middle East - where MERS has been infecting humans for at least two years - the the Health Care system should be well aware of the threat, and adequately equipped to minimize transmission to the staff.
So it is a bit of a mystery why not only the number, but the rate of HCWs being infected with MERS-CoV, continues to rise.
Dr. Ian Mackay provides some illuminating graphics showing this trend, along with some commentary, on his blog this morning:.
MERS-CoV: Healthcare worker numbers are spiking...
One of several questions I have about MERS just now is whether there are in fact more healthcare worker MERS-CoV-positive cases occurring now compared to previously. It feels like there are.
Overall there are 50 HCWs listed in my database at writing. This is a database I maintain from official (WHO and the various Ministries of Health) data as well as FluTrackers' independent data collection; all of which are publicly available. For those who follow me, you will know that I often complain about the MERS data being incomplete. So take these charts as providing you with a good guide to the situation rather than an official document. You are reading a blog after all.
