Novel coronavirus infections in Jordan, April 2012: epidemiological findings from a retrospective investigation

In April 2012, an outbreak of acute respiratory illness occurred in a public hospital in Zarqa city, in Jordan; 8 health care workers were among the 11 people affected, 1 of who later died. The cause of the outbreak was unknown at the time and an epidemiological investigation including laboratory testing carried out immediately afterthe outbreak was inconclusive. Following the discovery of novel coronavirus infection (nCoV) in the Arabian peninsula in September 2012, stored respiratory and serum samples of patients from this outbreak were retested and the diagnosis of nCoV was confirmed in 2 deceased patients. This paper describes the epidemiological findings of retrospective investigation carried out in November 2012 and highlights the likelihood of nosocomial transmission of nCoV infection in a health-care setting. A total of 2 laboratory-confirmed and 11 probable cases were identified from this outbreak of whom 10 were HCWs and 2 were family members of cases.