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Workers in full
protective gear disinfect the interior of a subway train at a Seoul Metro's
railway vehicle base in Goyang, South Korea. (Reuters / Kim Hong-Ji)
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As South Korea reported its 14th fatality from an outbreak of
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), in addition to the 12 new cases, the
World Health Organization warned the “large and complex” outbreak will cost
more lives.
RT.com reports:
“Because the outbreak has
been large and is complex, more cases should be anticipated,”Keiji Fukuda, who
is leading a WHO team, told a news conference in Sejong, South Korea.
At the same time, Fukuda
noted South Korean efforts to contain the outbreak, as all of the country’s
cases have been linked to health facilities.
“At present, the mission
has found no evidence to indicate there is an ongoing transmission in the
community,” Fukuda said.
His assessment was based
on a review conducted by his team and South Korean officials into the country’s
response to the outbreak, the largest outside Saudi Arabia, where the virus was
first discovered in 2012.
Releasing a new
statement, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the outbreak in South Korea
is similar to MERS outbreaks in health care facilities in the Middle East, but
the situation in South Korea is rapidly evolving.
Since it was first
diagnosed on May 20, the virus has infected 138 people in South Korea, killing
14 of them.
The latest death was a
68-year-old woman who became sick at a hospital in Pyeongtaek City, the Health
Ministry said on Saturday. The ministry added that all 14 fatal cases had
pre-existing health conditions and were elderly, with many dying from
hypertension and hypothyroidism.
The Health Ministry also
announced 12 more people had contracted the virus, bringing the total number of
confirmed cases to 138. Authorities traced the origin of infection of 133
people, 60 of whom contracted the disease at Samsung Medical Centre. Five
others are still being investigated.
The new patients included
an ambulance driver who fell ill after dealing with a 75-year-old infected
woman who died three days later.
MERS comes from the same
family of viruses as SARS. Although it is more deadly, it is not as contagious,
but there is currently no cure or vaccine.
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