HEALTH-MERS/SOUTH KOREA-NEWSER South Korea reports 4 new cases of MERS, total 126

Record ID: 151102

  • Title: HEALTH-MERS/SOUTH KOREA-NEWSER South Korea reports 4 new cases of MERS, total 126
  • Date: 12th June 2015
  • Summary: SEJONG, SOUTH KOREA (JUNE 12, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** JOURNALISTS SITTING AT NEWS BRIEFING JOURNALISTS TYPING SOUTH KOREAN ASSISTANT MINISTER OF HEALTHCARE POLICY, KWON DEOK-CHEOL WALKING TOWARD PODIUM JOURNALISTS TYPING KWON SPEAKING AND STEPPING BACK / SOUTH KOREAN DIRECTOR OF DISEASE PREVENTION CENTER AT KOREA CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL
  • Embargoed: 27th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADWAVF0LMGX36DKLJYXE9P9Y4
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: South Korea's outbreak of a deadly respiratory disease appears to have slowed, with the health ministry reporting four new cases on Friday (June 12), the lowest daily increase in 11 days that put the total at 126, all traced to health care settings.
    The number of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) patients had surged from 18 on June 1, raising questions about public health authorities' effort to contain the outbreak that has become the world's largest outside Saudi Arabia.
    Ten people who tested positive for the MERS virus have died although all had serious pre-existing ailments.
    "There are four newly confirmed cases, leading to total of 126 patients. The number of deaths are now ten, after one passed away yesterday. Seven have left hospital," a South Korean disease control center official, Jeong Eun-kyeong, told a briefing.
    The number of people under quarantine, either in voluntary isolation at home or in medical facilities, also declined for the first time, falling by 125 to 3,680, the ministry said. More than 1,200 people have been cleared.
    But Jeong said more patients may still be out there.
    "There may be some additional patients among people who have already been exposed," he said.
    The outbreak began when a 68-year-old man returned from a business trip in the Middle East and tested positive on May 20 but not before coming in contact with others at hospitals.
    All but one subsequent cases have been traced to the first patient and in health care settings, although the health ministry said on Friday the last person was also likely infected by a previous patient at a hospital.
    Two hospitals that had treated patients who subsequently tested positive have been sealed off, locking in dozens of patients and medical workers, after authorities concluded the MERS carriers may be particularly infectious.
    The outbreak caused widespread public fear and confusion hitting sales at major shopping outlets and attendance at theatres and baseball parks, and forced the central bank to cut interest rates on Thursday (June 11) to soften the blow to the economy.
    Some countries in the region issued travel advisories for South Korea or stepped up screening of inbound passengers.
    A delegation of Saudi health officials was scheduled to meet South Korean officials on Friday to share their experience.
    Nearly 2,800 schools remained closed as of Friday morning, although some were set to reopen on Monday (June 15).
    First identified in humans in 2012, MERS is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that triggered China's deadly 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). There is no cure or vaccine.
    South Korea's new cases bring the total number of MERS cases globally to 1,275 based on World Health Organization data, with at least 449 related deaths.
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