With the ongoing MERS-CoV outbreak in South Korea, all our hospitals have been reminded to remain vigilant and to stand...
Posted by Ministry of Health on Wednesday, June 3, 2015
South Korea MERS outbreak spreads: 25 cases, 2 dead
Schools close, tourists cancel tours and organisations move to adopt preventative measures
By Chang May Choon, South Korea Correspondent In Seoul, The Straits Times, 3 Jun 2015
Schools close, tourists cancel tours and organisations move to adopt preventative measures
By Chang May Choon, South Korea Correspondent In Seoul, The Straits Times, 3 Jun 2015
THE Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak has claimed its first two victims in South Korea, prompting schools to close and tourists to cancel tours over growing fears of the virus spreading.
Six more people were diagnosed yesterday, bringing the total number of MERS cases to 25, as the government vowed to step up efforts to contain the outbreak - the largest outside the Middle East.
This includes the first recorded tertiary infections - two people who caught the virus not from the first patient but a secondary patient.
More than 750 people who had contact with MERS patients, including medical staff, have been quarantined so far, at home or medical facilities.
More than 750 people who had contact with MERS patients, including medical staff, have been quarantined so far, at home or medical facilities.
According to the health ministry, a 58-year-old woman and a 71-year-old man died on Monday after having close contact with the first MERS patient, a 68-year-old man who tested positive for MERS on May 20 after a trip to Bahrain.
Health officials said both were already unwell and were being treated in hospital where they caught the MERS virus. The woman, who died in a hospital in Gyeonggi province, had asthma, while the man had suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Meanwhile, the South Korean man who brought MERS to China is being treated in southern Guangdong province and his condition is stable, according to local media reports.
At an emergency ministerial meeting yesterday, acting prime minister Choi Kyung Hwan promised that the government will mobilise all its medical resources to combat MERS and allay public concerns.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) will be sending a team of epidemiologists to help the country cope with the outbreak, Korea Times reported. It added that they will depart for Seoul once they receive confirmation from the health ministry, and will start analysing the virus to see how closely it is related to the one first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
With fear spreading faster than the virus, some organisations have taken it upon themselves to adopt preventive measures.
In Gyeonggi province, a primary school located near the hospital where the 58-year-old woman died decided to close yesterday, due to rising concern from parents. Another 35 primary schools will close from today, and schools have been advised to cancel outdoor activities as a precaution.
Ssangyong Motor sent some workers home after an employee was diagnosed with MERS on Monday, while Hyundai Motor advised its employees to refrain from going to the Middle East.
The tourism sector was also hit, with about 1,300 people from Taiwan and another 300 from China cancelling their trips, according to reports.
Singaporean Grace Teo, 33, a civil servant who is set to fly to Seoul on June 15 with her family and friends, said she is following the news every day as she is worried about exposing her three-year-old daughter to MERS.
"When I saw the news this morning that two people have died, my heart sank," she told The Straits Times, adding that she will give herself another week to make a decision.
South Korea MERS outbreak: Some holidaymakers worried but not cancelling plans
By Cheryl Faith Wee, The Straits Times, 3 Jun 2015
By Cheryl Faith Wee, The Straits Times, 3 Jun 2015
Reports of the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in South Korea have some holidaymakers worried. But, for now, most will go ahead with their June vacation plans.
Travel agencies here said some customers have asked how safe it is to visit South Korea. But there have been no cancellations at agencies such as Chan Brothers Travel and CTC Travel.
Said Chan Brothers' marketing communications executive Rebecca Chia: "We remind our travellers to maintain vigilance and adopt health precautions such as avoiding close contact with people who are coughing. We are closely monitoring the situation."
South Korea recorded its first case of the MERS virus last month. Since then, the number of infected South Koreans has jumped to more than 20, with two fatalities as of yesterday. The virus has infected more than 1,100 people and killed more than 400 worldwide.
South Korea recorded its first case of the MERS virus last month. Since then, the number of infected South Koreans has jumped to more than 20, with two fatalities as of yesterday. The virus has infected more than 1,100 people and killed more than 400 worldwide.
But despite concerns, demand for travel to South Korea has not dampened. This month, Chan Brothers has several groups, of 20 to 40 people each, departing for the country daily.
Hong Thai Travel has about 500 people going there this month, while CTC Travel has about 600.
S. Korean dies of MERS-like symptoms
Park slams Seoul govt's response to MERS cases
She urges all-out action as S. Korean woman suspected to have MERS dies
By Chang May Choon, South Korea Correspondent In Seoul, The Straits Times, 2 Jun 2015
Park slams Seoul govt's response to MERS cases
She urges all-out action as S. Korean woman suspected to have MERS dies
By Chang May Choon, South Korea Correspondent In Seoul, The Straits Times, 2 Jun 2015
A 58-YEAR-OLD South Korean woman suspected of contracting Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) has died, as President Park Geun Hye criticised the government's poor initial response and urged officials to go all out to contain the spread of the virus.
The woman, who had physical contact with the first confirmed patient, was admitted to a hospital in Gyeonggi province and died of symptoms similar to MERS yesterday afternoon, according to health officials.
An investigation is being planned to determine her exact cause of death.
As of yesterday, there were 18 confirmed MERS cases in South Korea - the highest outside the Middle East - and one in China.
The Chinese authorities are still trying to locate 10 people who had contact with a 44-year- old South Korean man who brought MERS into the country, the official Xinhua news agency reported. He is being treated at a hospital in the southern city of Huizhou and the health authorities said he is in a stable condition.
There are now 67 people quarantined in China - including three who were tracked down yesterday - and 18 in Hong Kong.
Those in China had travelled on the same bus as the South Korean man, while those in Hong Kong were seated near him on a flight from Seoul.
South Korea's Health Ministry came under fire yesterday for its slow response to the first case reported on May 20 and for failing to contain the outbreak.
More than 680 people who had close contact with MERS patients, including medical staff, have been isolated and are being kept under observation.
In a regular meeting with her aides, Ms Park said that the government's initial response was "insufficient" and stressed the need to step up efforts to prevent infectious diseases from spreading, especially across borders.
She asked for a joint task force to be set up, so as to "find the reason for the high rate of transmission".
The government has since imposed a temporary ban on people who have been exposed to MERS leaving the country.
Health and Welfare Minister Moon Hyung Pyo has apologised for the MERS outbreak.
He also said this week would be a "critical turning point" for MERS - seeing whether it will continue to spread or subside.
All the cases detected so far are linked to Patient Zero - a 68-year-old man who tested positive for MERS on May 20, after a trip to Bahrain.
Of the three latest cases reported yesterday, two were patients in the same hospital as Patient Zero.
The third person came into contact with Patient Zero while caring for his hospitalised parent.
First identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, MERS is a respiratory disease that spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms. In severe cases, it can cause respiratory failure.
There is no treatment or vaccine for the disease. MERS has infected more than 1,100 people and killed more than 400, mostly in the Middle East.
MERS fears spread to China as result of carelessness
The Straits Times, 1 Jun 2015
The Straits Times, 1 Jun 2015
SEOUL - Fears of the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) have spread from South Korea to China on a combination of carelessness among individuals and medical staff, as well as the bungling of initial response by the South Korean government.
As of yesterday, the number of South Koreans infected with the deadly viral disease jumped to 15 after it recorded its first case of the virus in a 68-year-old man on May 20, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The first patient has infected 14 people, including a 44-year-old man who went to China against the advice of doctors, as the first patient had "belatedly" notified doctors of his travel to Saudi Arabia.
Health officials have come under fire for allowing the man to travel to China.
South Korea's health minister apologised yesterday for failing to halt the outbreak, vowing "utmost efforts" to curb the disease's spread.
Minister Moon Hyung Pyo said: "We apologise for causing concern and anxiety among people due to... our initial judgment on the contagiousness of MERS."
Urging the public not to panic, he added that this week would be a "critical period" to contain the spread of MERS, which has symptoms such as flu-like aches.
The man who went to China had flown to Hong Kong before travelling by bus to the Chinese city of Huizhou, where he is being treated under quarantine. The Hong Kong authorities said last Saturday 18 plane passengers who sat close to the man have been sent to a quarantine camp.
The passengers were seated within two rows of the man, but had yet to show any symptoms, the Associated Press reported. Another 17 passengers are being monitored.
The man's colleagues have been or are also expected to be examined or quarantined.
Mr Moon said the hospital where the first outbreak was reported has been closed and all patients were being treated in quarantine.
The 14 others who acquired the virus from Patient Zero were other patients in the same hospital as the man, relatives of the patients or hospital staff with whom he came into contact.
MERS has infected more than 1,100 people and killed more than 400 worldwide, with most cases in the Middle East. There is no known cure or vaccine for it.
XINHUA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
XINHUA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE