Trickle of new cases lifts South Korea MERS total to 172
Lisa Schnirring
CIDRAP News
Jun 22, 2015
South Korea’s health ministry has reported six more MERS-CoV cases, as well as three more deaths, over the past 3 days in a hospital-linked outbreak that has now sickened 172 people but appears to be slowing.
Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) shared more details about Thailand’s first imported MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case, revealing that the Omani man had symptoms before he traveled to Thailand.
South Korea update
South Korea’s six new MERS-CoV cases include three reported yesterday and three announced today, according to media reports citing health ministry sources.
No cases or deaths were announced on Jun 20, but the following day the ministry reported three additional infections and a death in a previously confirmed case, the Korea Times reported yesterday. Two of those cases involve healthcare workers: One is a radiology technician at Konkuk University Medical Center, and the other is a doctor at Samsung Medical Center, both in Seoul.
On the same day the health ministry announced a death from the disease involving a 63-year-old man who was exposed to the virus in late May when he visited his wife while she was receiving cancer treatment at Samsung, according to the Times.
Today health officials announced three additional cases, putting the overall outbreak total at 172, as well as two more MERS fatalities. Details from some of the cases suggest a longer incubation period for the disease, which is thought to be about 14 days, the Korea Herald reported.
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