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Alert issued for Hong Kong flu in S. Korea

July 10, 2015

A thermal camera monitor shows the body temperature of visitors during the Job Fairs in Seoul, South Korea Friday, June 5, 2015. Sales of surgical masks surge amid fears of the deadly, poorly understood virus. Airlines announce "intensified sanitizing operations." More than 1,100 schools close and 1,600 people - and 17 camels in zoos - are quarantined. The current frenzy in South Korea over MERS brings to mind the other menacing diseases to hit Asia over the last decade - SARS, which killed hundreds, and bird flu. (Yonhap)

A thermal camera monitor shows the body temperature of visitors during the Job Fairs in Seoul, South Korea Friday, June 5, 2015. Now the Korean government has been put on alert over the possible spread of the seasonal flu, which killed 61 people in Hong Kong last month alone. (Yonhap)

By Jung Min-ho

Fresh concern is arising over the possible spread of an influenza virus as the nation has yet to emerge from the shock of an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

The Korean government has been put on alert over the possible spread of the seasonal flu, which killed 61 people in Hong Kong last month alone.

After a Korean man contracted the virus after visiting Hong Kong, concerns are growing over the flu coming to Korea.

According to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Friday, the H3N2 influenza strain is highly infectious and potentially deadly.

The state-run disease control agency confirmed on June 20 that a Korean man in his 30s was infected with the virus after visiting Hong Kong, Korea’s first case this year. The patient was not quarantined but was advised to avoid close contact with other people.

“We’ll strengthen fever checks for those coming to Korea from Hong Kong through Incheon International Airport, and those showing symptoms of the flu will undergo tests,” a KCDC official said.

“If tested positive, such people will be advised to visit hospitals as soon as possible and avoid outdoor activities.”

But the agency does not have any plan to implement quarantine measures against the virus. “It is extremely rare for any country to take such measures against seasonal flu,” the official said.

The H3N2 virus, better known as Hong Kong flu, has killed over 500 people in Hong Kong since the start of the year.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel advisory for Hong Kong, urging travelers to be cautious of the risk.

“Koreans who plan to visit Hong Kong or reside there have been advised to maintain hygiene and take extra care to stay healthy,” a ministry official said.

The KCDC and the ministry will continue to monitor the situation to see if additional measures are needed, sharing information about the situation with Hong Kong’s health authorities.

Korea and Hong Kong are closely connected, with about 300,000 monthly travelers between the two. So concerns have been rising over the flu. Some worry that it will become more damaging than the MERS virus, given its high infection rate.

In fact, the number of deaths from flu already outnumbered the 302 deaths from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003.

The H3N2 strain of flu, however, despite the large number of deaths, is not considered as threatening as SARS because nearly all the victims have been the elderly or the sick, with low immunity, according to the KCDC.

Yet, with the broken public trust in the government disease control system throughout the MERS outbreak, concerns are likely to remain.