S. Korea fears MERS may have spread to new hospital

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea on Saturday said it was closely monitoring a hospital in eastern Seoul over fears that hundreds of people there may have been exposed to the deadly MERS virus.

A 70-year-old woman who caught Middle East Respiratory Syndrome while visiting an infected relative in a different hospital was feared to have spread the virus to the new site.

"We are focusing our efforts in tracing contacts and isolating people who came close to this patient", a senior health ministry official told journalists on Saturday.

The woman died on June 25, two days after she was diagnosed, but due to the virus's 14-day incubation period, anyone she infected may only start showing symptoms in the coming days.

The official said it was too early to say whether the outbreak may be on the wane, given that new cases are expected at the new site.

"We would be able to talk about any trend of the outbreak only after watching the development at the hospital", he said.

The comments came as the country reported one additional MERS case, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 182 in the largest outbreak of the deadly virus outside Saudi Arabia.

However, no additional fatalities were reported over the past 24 hours, with the death toll standing at 31, the health ministry said.

The latest case involved a 27-year-old nurse at a hospital in eastern Seoul who was believed to have been infected while treating a patient.Seou

She is the fifth confirmed case at the hospital, where more than 100 patients who were exposed to the virus while undergoing dialysis have been isolated at the hospital since June 18.

Of the 182 confirmed cases, 90 people have recovered, 31 have died and 61 others are still being treated -- 13 of whom are listed in a critical condition.

Most of the deceased had pre-existing medical conditions, according to the health ministry.

Some 2,467 people were meanwhile in isolation, down from 2,931 on Friday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

First MERS case confirmed in Thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand - Thai health officials Thursday said a 75-year-old man from the Middle East was confirmed to have MERS, the country's first case after a deadly outbreak of the virus hit South Korea.

"(The man) is from a Middle Eastern country. The (test) results confirmed that he has Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)," said Rajata Rajatanavin, Thailand's Public Health Minister, adding the patient had arrived in the kingdom with his family three days ago.

Thailand had investigated around 20 people for the virus, all of who tested negative.

MERS has spread at an alarmingly rapid pace in South Korea since the first case was diagnosed on May 20, infecting 165 in what is the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia and prompting a major public health scare.

Earlier on Thursday World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan had expressed guarded optimism over South Korea's ability to contain the MERS outbreak, saying it was now "on a very good footing" after an initially slow response to the virus which has killed 23 people.

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South Korean shopping, baseball, movies and art hit by MERS

SEOUL - South Korean high street spending fell dramatically in the first week of June as fears over an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) kept shoppers at home, but online purchases rose, government estimates showed on Wednesday.

President Park Geun-hye postponed a US visit to supervise the handling of the outbreak, as two more people died and 13 new cases were reported, lifting the total number of patients to 108.

Department store sales in the period fell 25 percent from an average of the first two weeks of May, the data showed. Sales at discount stores fell 7.2 percent, but online purchases rose 3.2 percent.

Cinema ticket sales dropped 54.9 percent in the first week of June from the year-earlier period. Visitors to amusement parks plummeted 60.4 percent and to baseball games, 38.7 percent.

Museums and art galleries suffered the same fate, with drops of 81.5 percent and 48.3 percent, respectively.

Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan asked South Koreans in a briefing on Wednesday not to be excessively worried and urged consumers to continue spending money.

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Tourists fear MERS outbreak in South Korea

SEOUL - Tourists in South Korea were worried on Thursday amid a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, which has killed at least three people and infected dozens in two weeks.

In Myeong-dong, a tourist attraction in capital city Seoul, tourists wore mask while walking around the streets.

One of the tourists said she feels insecure about the situation.

"When I arrived at the Incheon International Airport, I saw people wearing mask so I think there must be some disease around here. So, I feel a bit unsecured, so I buy the mask and wear here," said 56-year-old Malaysian tourist Zakiah Hussin.

According to South Korea Tourism Organization, about 2,500 people on Monday (June 1) and about 4,500 people on Tuesday (June 2) canceled trips to the country, mostly by tourists from China and other Asian regions.

"I thought about cancel this trip before because of the MERS. News in China (you know) very scareful. But this graduation trip is meaningful as we scheduled it long times ago. So We still decided to be here anyhow," said 22-year-old Lorraine Long from China.

"It is not going to be convenient for foreigners to come here with the fact that MERS is around," 21-year-old Brazilian tourist Tais Correa added fear about trip in South Korea.

Earlier in the day, South Korea's Health Ministry confirmed five additional cases of MERS, raising the total to 35, including two more health care workers who treated infected patients.

There have been three deaths directly confirmed as a result from MERS, sharply raising public fear and confusion as authorities tried to contain the spread of the disease by tracking down people who may have had contact with patients.

All the cases have been traced to a 68-year-old man who had visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the countries with the most MERS cases.

Whilst there has been no sustained human-to-human transmission, the worst-case scenario would be for the virus to change and spread rapidly, as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) did in 2002-2003, killing about 800 people around the world.

MERS was first identified in humans in 2012 and is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that triggered SARS. But MERS has a much higher death rate at 38 percent, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) figures.

The new cases would bring the total number globally to 1,179, based on World Health Organisation (WHO) data, with at least 442 related deaths.

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South Korea reports 5 more cases of MERS illness

SEOUL - South Korea confirmed five more cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, the health ministry said early on Wednesday, bringing to 30 the total number of cases in the country of the often-deadly illness.

On Tuesday, South Korea reported its first two deaths from MERS since the first confirmed case two weeks ago, fuelling growing worry about the spread of the illness in the country, which has reported the most cases of MERS outside the Middle East.

South Korea has isolated about 750 people for possible MERS infection, which is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that triggered the deadly 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). MERS has a much higher death rate than SARS and there is no cure or vaccine.

Of the five new cases, four had been in the same hospital as the first patient, a 68-year-old man who had recently travelled to four countries in the Middle East. The other, a 60-year-old man, caught it from another person infected in the outbreak.

The new cases would bring the total number globally to 1,166, based on earlier World Health Organization (WHO) data, with at least 436 related deaths.

The WHO has not recommended trade or travel restrictions for South Korea, although South Korean border control authorities have put a ban on overseas travel for people isolated for possible infection, a health ministry official said.

Government health officials have been criticized for being slow to respond to the outbreak.

The death rate from MERS, first identified in humans in 2012, has been 38 percent, according to WHO figures, with older patients and those with existing respiratory and renal ailments at greater risk, according to a South Korean doctor. However, experts said that figure may overstate the fatality rate as patients with little or no symptoms might go undetected.

By comparison, the death rate from SARS was 9 to 12 percent, rising above 50 percent for patients over 65, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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Saudi urged to do more vs MERS coronavirus

RIYADH - An international health mission said Monday more measures are needed to combat the spread of MERS in Saudi Arabia, the country worst hit by the coronavirus.

The team of experts said it identified with health authorities in the kingdom the need for "understanding the animal/human interface" including the "modes of infection and transmission."

It also urged "improving disease prevention, especially in health facilities that continue to experience avoidable infections," in a statement issued by the World Health Organisation following the conclusion of the mission to Saudi Arabia.

The mission headed to the desert kingdom after a surge of cases in the past weeks, including 50 reported this month alone as well as infections acquired in health facilities.

A total of 899 people have been infected in the kingdom, of whom 382 have died, since the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was identified globally in 2012.

The health ministry recorded five deaths on Thursday alone, bringing to 16 the number since February 11.

"When health workers are infected at work, this puts other health-care workers at risk, but also can be a risk to all other patients who seek care for other health conditions," said the statement.

It said that educating professionals and the public about the virus are "urgently needed," highlighting "significant gaps in community engagement to fully understand routes of infection and the preventive steps that should be taken."

More than 20 countries have been affected by MERS but most cases have been linked to the Middle East.

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Foreign woman dies of MERS in Saudi

RIYADH - A foreigner has died after she contracted MERS in the Saudi capital, the health ministry said on Friday, bringing the nationwide death toll to 73.

The 55-year-old woman, whose nationality was not disclosed, was suffering from chronic illnesses, a statement said.

The health ministry said five other people living in Riyadh were infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, two of them foreigners.

Late on Thursday, the ministry reported the death of a 70-year-old Saudi woman in the western city of Jeddah where the virus has spread in recent weeks.

It reported six other infections in Jeddah, among them an expat "health worker," bringing to 218 the number of MERS infections in the worst-hit country.

Panic over the spread of MERS among medical staff in Jeddah this month forced the temporary closure of an emergency room at a major hospital, prompting Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabiah to visit the facility in a bid to calm the public.

Local media reported Wednesday at least four doctors at Jeddah's King Fahd hospital have resigned after refusing to treat patients affected by MERS, apparently out of fear of catching the virus.

The MERS virus was initially concentrated in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia but has now spread across other areas.

The World Health Organisation said Thursday it had been told of 243 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS infection worldwide, of which 93 have proved fatal.

Malaysia announced the first MERS death Sunday in the country of a man who had developed a fever, cough and breathing difficulties after returning from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on March 29.

The case prompted Malaysian authorities to quarantine 64 people in the dead man's village.

The MERS virus is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Experts are still struggling to understand MERS, for which there is no known vaccine.

A recent study said the virus has been "extraordinarily common" in camels for at least 20 years, and may have been passed directly from the animals to humans.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com