S. Korea, WHO experts downplay pandemic potential of MERS
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Experts from the World Health Organization and South Korea on Saturday downplayed concerns about the MERS virus spreading further within the country, which recorded its 14th fatality and 12 new infections, but said that it was premature to declare the outbreak over.
After a weeklong review of the outbreak, the panel of experts told a news conference that there was no evidence to suggest the virus is spreading in the community. The outbreak in South Korea has so far been occurring only in hospitals, among patients, family members who visited them and medical staff treating them.
The virus has spread at a pattern similar to previous outbreaks in the Middle East, and the sequencing studies of samples from South Korea show no signs that the virus has increased its ability to transmit between humans, said WHO Assistant Director Keiji Fukuda.
A South Korean health worker from a community health center wearing mask as a precaution against MERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, virus, checks an examinee' temperature at a test site for the civil service examination in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, June 13, 2015. Experts from the World Health Organization and South Korea have downplayed concerns about the MERS virus spreading further within the country, but they say it's premature to declare the outbreak over. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
While the infections seem to be stagnating, the South Korean government must continue to maintain strong control measures, such as closely monitoring suspected patients and preventing them from traveling, because it's still early to declare the situation over, he added.
Fukuda said that overcrowded emergency rooms and hospital wards might have contributed to a wider-than-expected transmission of the virus that usually spreads poorly between people. South Korea's habits of "doctor shopping" — visiting multiple facilities to treat the same infection — and the custom of having many friends and family members visiting hospitalized patients might have also facilitated the spread, he said.
Fourteen people have died and nearly 140 have been diagnosed — including 12 new infections Saturday — with Middle East respiratory syndrome since last month in the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia. About 2,900 schools and kindergartens were closed and 3,680 people were isolated as of Friday after possible contacts with those infected.
Two hospitals, including one in Seoul considered as the main source of the outbreak, also were temporarily closed after MERS patients were found to have had contact with hundreds of people at the two facilities before they were diagnosed.
Experts think MERS can spread in respiratory droplets, such as by coughing. But transmissions have mainly occurred through close contact, such as living with or caring for an infected person.
MERS has a death rate of about 40 percent among reported cases. It belongs to the family of coronaviruses that includes the common cold and SARS, and can cause fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure. Most of the deaths in South Korea have been of people suffering from pre-existing medical conditions, such as respiratory problems or cancer.
A South Korean health worker from a community health center wearing mask as a precaution against MERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, virus, takes an examinee' temperature at a test site for the civil service examination in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, June 13, 2015. Experts from the World Health Organization and South Korea have downplayed concerns about the MERS virus spreading further within the country, but they say it's premature to declare the outbreak over. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A worker wearing protective gears sprays antiseptic solution as a precaution against the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) at a classroom of Midong Elementary school in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 12, 2015. Authorities in South Korea temporarily closed two hospitals amid persistent fears over the MERS virus outbreak, which killed an 11th person Friday, though health officials said they are seeing fewer new infections. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Women wear masks as a precaution against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) as they walk on the Myeongdong, one of the main shopping districts, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 12, 2015. Authorities in South Korea temporarily closed two hospitals amid persistent fears over the MERS virus outbreak, which killed an 11th person Friday, though health officials said they are seeing fewer new infections. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
