摘要
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) is a potentially fatal respiratory viral infection that has had outbreaks in the Middle East and Asia region starting in 2012. As recent as 2015, MERS had outbreaks in South Korea, resulting in 36 deaths among 186 infected patients. The purpose of this thesis is to gain an in-depth understanding of how this viral infection behaves in outbreaks and how it is spread around the globe. To gain insight, real time analysis was performed under a case study methodology based on pooled data from the Ministry of Health & Welfare of South Korea. We calculated a striated mortality rate based on gender, age, and the presence of pre-existing health conditions ranging from heart, lung, and kidney diseases. We found that MERS outbreak follows the pattern of a point source outbreak, largely spurred by the patient-referral system under the universal healthcare system in South Korea. The purpose of this case is to discuss the benefits and challenges of such patient referral system, and to offer a possible solution in improving transparency between healthcare providers and the government under a universal healthcare system to prevent future outbreaks.
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) is a potentially fatal respiratory viral infection that has had outbreaks in the Middle East and Asia region starting in 2012. As recent as 2015, MERS had outbreaks in South Korea, resulting in 36 deaths among 186 infected patients. The purpose of this thesis is to gain an in-depth understanding of how this viral infection behaves in outbreaks and how it is spread around the globe. To gain insight, real time analysis was performed under a case study methodology based on pooled data from the Ministry of Health & Welfare of South Korea. We calculated a striated mortality rate based on gender, age, and the presence of pre-existing health conditions ranging from heart, lung, and kidney diseases. We found that MERS outbreak follows the pattern of a point source outbreak, largely spurred by the patient-referral system under the universal healthcare system in South Korea. The purpose of this case is to discuss the benefits and challenges of such patient referral system, and to offer a possible solution in improving transparency between healthcare providers and the government under a universal healthcare system to prevent future outbreaks.
作者
Woo Hyung Lee
David Ahn
Kunmin Kim
Peter S. Park
Seog In Moon
Hark Joon Lee
David Park
Hyun Seung Shin
Eunice Kang
Daniel Choo
David S. Chung
Woo Hyung Lee;David Ahn;Kunmin Kim;Peter S. Park;Seog In Moon;Hark Joon Lee;David Park;Hyun Seung Shin;Eunice Kang;Daniel Choo;David S. Chung(Biotechnology, School of Science, Hong Kong University of Science of Technology, Hong Kong, China;Department of Economics, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA;Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA;Department of Biology, College of Art and Science, Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA;Department of Biology, Amherst College, Amherst, MA, USA;Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA;College of Art and Science, Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA;Division of Biomedical Informatics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA;Youth with Talents, Fairfax, VA, USA;School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA)
