JUNE 30 (Reuters) — One more person with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) died, South Korea said on Tuesday (June 30), bringing the number of fatalities to 33.
“As of now, a total of 54 patients are undergoing treatment, 95 patients have been discharged from hospital and 33 people have died. And the total number of confirmed MERS cases is 182. Compared to yesterday, the total number of patients undergoing treatment has declined by three, and two patients left hospital. There was one additional death, and there were no new confirmed cases of MERS yesterday,” South Korean Director of Disease Prevention Center at Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jeong Eun-kyeong, said at a daily news briefing.
The 33rd reported MERS death was a 81-year-old woman who had an existing heart ailment and high blood pressure. Most of the deaths have been elderly patients or those who had existing illnesses, the health ministry said.
The South Korean health ministry said the first reported MERS patient, who returned from a trip to the Middle East in early May and was diagnosed with the virus for the first time in South Korea, had now tested negative and left the quarantine ward.
“The first MERS patient tested negative on further MERS tests and has been released from a quarantine ward. However, he will be staying in hospital for a couple more days due to complications,” Jeong added.
South Korea has the highest number of infections outside Saudi Arabia, according to data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
First identified in humans in 2012, MERS is caused by a corona virus from the same family as the one that triggered the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). There is no cure or vaccine.
