Infection prevention and control for the MERS-COV, 2019: a teaching case-study student´s guide
Amal Al-Nafisi, Abdulaziz Almutairi, Sami Al-Mudarra
Corresponding author: Amal Al-Nafisi, Saudi Field Epidemiology Training Program, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 
Received: 02 Jul 2020 - Accepted: 20 Jul 2020 - Published: 03 Aug 2020
Domain: Epidemiology,Infectious diseases epidemiology
Keywords: MERS-CoV, prevention, Saudi Arabia
This article is published as part of the supplement Teaching case-studies in Field Epidemiology with a focus on the Eastern Mediterranean Region, commissioned by The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET).
©Amal Al-Nafisi et al. Pan African Medical Journal (ISSN: 1937-8688). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Amal Al-Nafisi et al. Infection prevention and control for the MERS-COV, 2019: a teaching case-study student´s guide. Pan African Medical Journal. 2020;36(1):2. [doi: 10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.36.1.24745]
Available online at: https://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/series/36/1/2/full
PDF in process Case study 
Infection prevention and control for the MERS-COV, 2019: a teaching case-study student´s guide
Infection prevention and control for the MERS-COV, 2019: a teaching case-study student´s guide
Amal Al-Nafisi1,&, Abdulaziz Almutairi1, Sami Al-Mudarra1
&Corresponding author
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus that was first identified in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in 2012. On the 12th of February 2019, the Ministry of Health (MOH) represented by the Control and Command Center (CCC) reported an increase in MERS-CoV cases in Wadi Al-Dawasir Province, KSA, which in conjunction with the camel mating season. The CCC confirmed that the epidemiological surveillance field teams at the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) have detected a number of positive samples of MERS-CoV in camels. This case study aims to develop the capacity of trainees in the processes of public health infection control and prevention, based on a MERS-CoV outbreak investigation in Wadi Aldawasir - KSA. This case study is designed for the training of basic level field epidemiology trainees or any other health care workers working in public health-related fields. It can be administered in 3-4 hours. Used as adjunct training material, the case study provides the trainees with competencies in investigating an outbreak in preparation for the actual real-life experience of such outbreaks.
General instructions: this case study should be used as adjunct training material for novice epidemiology trainees to reinforce the concepts taught in prior lectures. The case study is ideally taught by a facilitator in groups of about 20 participants. Participants are to take turns reading the case study, usually a paragraph per student. The facilitator guides the discussion on possible responses to questions. The facilitator may make use of flip charts to illustrate certain points. Additional instructor´s notes for facilitation are coupled with each question in the instructor´s guide to aid facilitation.
Audience: this case study was developed for novice field epidemiology students. These participants are commonly health care workers working in the county departments of health whose background may be as medical doctors, nurses, environmental health officers or laboratory scientists who work in public health-related fields. Most have a health science or biology background.
Prerequisites: before using this case study, participants should have received lectures on disease surveillance and outbreak investigation. Infection control and prevention.
Materials needed: Flash drive, flip charts, markers, computers with MS Excel
Level of training and associated public health activity: Novice - Outbreak investigation
Time required: 3-4 hours
Language: English
- Download the case study student guide (PDF - 692 KB)
- Request the case study facilitator guide
The authors declare no competing interests.
Authors would like to thank the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) for their technical support. We also acknowledge officers at the Epidemiological Surveillance Program and Expanded Program on Immunization at the Ministry of Public Health who investigated and responded to the measles outbreak on which this case study is based.
- World Health Organization. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 2020. Accessed on 15 Feb 2020.
- CCC. Overiew. Accessed on 15 Feb 2020.
- Zumla A, Hui D. Infection control and MERS-CoV in health-care workers. The Lancet. 2014 May 31;383(9932):1869-71. PubMed | Google Scholar
- CDC. One health approach. Accessed on 15 Feb 2020.
- WHO. Norms and Standards in Epidemiology: Case Definitions. 1999.
- Saudi Ministry of Health. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus; Guidelines for Healthcare Professionals - April 2018 - v 5.1. Accessed on 15 Feb 2020.
- World health Organization. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Accessed on 15 Feb 2020.
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