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3 more MERS-related deaths in S. Korea, 14% fatality rate

June 18, 2015
Students at an elementary school in Busan, 450 kilometers south of Seoul, attend class wearing masks as they resumed classes on June 18, 2015 after their school lifted a temporary closure due to the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. (Yonhap)

Students at an elementary school in Busan, 450 kilometers south of Seoul, attend class wearing masks as they resumed classes on June 18, 2015 after their school lifted a temporary closure due to the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. (Yonhap)

SEJONG, June 18 (Yonhap) — South Korea reported three more deaths from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Thursday, bringing the death toll to 23.

The latest deaths put the fatality rate of the disease in the country at nearly 14 percent, the highest since the country first confirmed its outbreak on May 20, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The ministry said two of the three deceased, both in their 60s, had existing health conditions, including tuberculosis and high blood pressure, which were apparently worsened by MERS, eventually leading to their deaths.

The other was an 82-year-old woman who was infected while tending to a patient at a hospital in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul.

Out of 23 MERS-related deaths, 91 percent, or 21, involved people with existing health problems or who were elderly, according to the ministry.

Nearly 80 percent of the deceased were aged 60 years or older.

The country also confirmed three new cases of the viral respiratory disease that brought the total number of people diagnosed with the disease to 165.

The three new cases included two nurses at two local hospitals who helped treat MERS patients.

So far, nearly all transmissions occurred at hospitals, a reason the government continues to claim there is no reason to fear the disease too much.

In a statement released Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO), also noted there has been no community transmission of the disease in South Korea.

The South Korean government belatedly began releasing the names of hospitals affected by MERS, which reached 84 as of Tuesday.

However, an alarm was raised Thursday after one MERS patients was found to have traveled to the country’s southern resort island of Jeju prior to diagnosis, but possibly after being infected with the potentially deadly disease.

The health ministry said it was tracing all those who have come in close contact with the patient.

Along with those diagnosed, 6,729 other people are currently in isolation for possible infection after coming in close contact with MERS patients, according to the health ministry.

Since the first case, 24 people diagnosed with the disease have been discharged from hospitals following complete recoveries, it added.

Out of the 118 still in treatment, 17 were in serious condition as of Thursday, the ministry said.

MERS is a viral respiratory illness that is new to humans with the first case reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

The WHO has acknowledged there are “still many gaps in knowledge regarding the transmission of this virus,” also noting the current lack of vaccine or treatment for the disease may have contributed to the outbreak and spread of the disease in South Korea.