HEALTH-MERS/SOUTH KOREA-WHO WHO says South Korean MERS outbreak large and complex

Record ID: 151049

  • Title: HEALTH-MERS/SOUTH KOREA-WHO WHO says South Korean MERS outbreak large and complex
  • Date: 13th June 2015
  • Summary: SEJONG, SOUTH KOREA (JUNE 13, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SOUTH KOREAN DIRECTOR AT JW LEE CENTER FOR GLOBAL MEDICINE OF SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, LEE JONG-KOO AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-GENERAL FOR HEALTH SECURITY AND WORLD ENVIRONMENT CLUSTER AT WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO), KEIJI FUKUDA WALKING TOWARD STAGE LEE AND FUKUDA
  • Embargoed: 28th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA64PQCUFQWLY6QYEMJBE80Z8RR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The World Health Organization said on Saturday (June 13) South Korea's outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was "large and complex" and more cases should be anticipated but it saw no sign that it is spreading in the community.
    There was also no indication that the MERS virus in South Korea's outbreak has changed to make it more transmissible, WHO assistant director general, Keiji Fukuda, who is leading its team, said.
    A WHO team has conducted a joint review with South Korean officials and experts of the country's response to the MERS outbreak which has infected 138 people and killed 14 of them since the first case was diagnosed on May 20.
    "Because the outbreak has been large and is complex, more cases should be anticipated," Fukuda told a news conference.
    "At present, the mission has found no evidence to indicate there is an ongoing transmission in the community," Fukuda added.
    Fukuda also told reporters that particular habits and customs in South Korea may have had impact on spreading this infection.
    "Likewise, the custom of having many friends and family members visiting hospital, hospitalized patients may have contributed to spread to secondary spread of infection," Fukuda said.
    South Korea's health ministry on Saturday reported 12 new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) bringing the total to 138 and said a 14th person had died in the outbreak.
    The 12 new cases, including an ambulance driver who transported a previous patient, follow four that were reported on Friday. The lower number had raised hopes that the outbreak might be slowing, although officials and experts predicted there would be more new cases.
    South Korean health authorities had widened quarantine to isolate and test anyone who may have come in contact with existing patients to try to contain the outbreak.
    The outbreak is the largest outside Saudi Arabia, where the disease was first identified in humans in 2012, and has stirred fears in Asia of a repeat of a 2002-2003 scare when Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) killed about 800 people worldwide.
    The 68-year-old man who brought MERS back to South Korea visited several health centres for a cough and fever before he was diagnosed, leaving a trail of infection in his wake. He continues to be treated for the illness.
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