Seroprevalence of SARS Coronavirus Among Residents Near a Hospital with a Nosocomial Outbreak.
OBJECTIVE
An epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) occurred in Taiwan from April to July 2003. A nosocomial outbreak of SARS occurred at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH) in May 2003. The purpose of our study was to survey the prevalence of the SARS coronavirus (CoV) in a community adjacent to Kaohsiung CGMH and collect demographic data, including basic information about health status, household, and possible risk factors for SARS-CoV infection.


METHODS
We randomly recruited 1030 persons living in three precincts adjacent to Kaohsiung CGMH. For all subjects, we collected demographic data and measured the seroprevalence of the SARS-CoV with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and an immunofluorescence assay (IFA).


RESULTS
The ELISA was seropositive for 124 of 1030 participants (12%). The more sensitive and specific IFA confirmed SARS in only two cases (0.19%). Both confirmed cases were under 19 years of age and had no known SARS-related risk factors.


CONCLUSIONS
There was low post-epidemic seroprevalence of SARS-CoV in a community adjacent to a hospital which had a nosocomial SARS outbreak. The SARS outbreak in Taiwan was primarily limited to hospital settings.
Tsai
Ming-Han
MH
Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, and Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taiwan.
Lin
Tzou-Yien
TY
Chiu
Cheng-Hsun
CH
Lin
Pen-Yi
PY
Huang
Yhu-Chering
YC
Tsao
Kuo-Chien
KC
Huang
Chung-Guei
CG
Hsu
Kuang-Hung
KH
Lin
Meng-Chih
MC
Hwang
Kao-Pin
KP
Yang
Kuender D
KD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult