Number of Mers deaths in South Korea has risen to 14

More Mers dead in South Korea: authorities reported 14th death
In South Korea, authorities have reported the 14th Mers fatality. The current outbreak of severe respiratory disease is the largest ever outside the Middle East. There are still thousands of citizens in quarantine.

Already 14 dead by Mers
The South Korean Ministry of Health reported another Mers death on Saturday and 12 new cases of severe respiratory disease. The hope of the government for a noticeable decrease in the number of patients with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) has thus been dampened. According to a news agency dpa, a 67-year-old woman who was infected by another Mers patient died. So far, 14 people died in Mers in the East Asian country, the number of patients rose to 138.

MERS viruses have claimed more lives in South Korea. (Picture: jarun011 / fotolia.com)

WHO warns against further spread of respiratory disease
According to the information, among the new infections is also an ambulance driver who had previously transported Mers patients. On Friday, the authorities had reported only four new cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against further spread of the life-threatening respiratory disease Mers in South Korea. As the WHO announced on Saturday, the outbreak in the Asian country was "big and complex". It is the largest Mers outbreak so far outside the Middle East.

Thousands of people in isolation stations
Earlier, officials from the Ministry of Health had suggested that the peak of the virus's spread on Saturday could be reached. As a precaution against further spread, hundreds of events had been canceled in the country. Thousands of kindergartens and schools were temporarily closed and thousands of people quarantined. By Friday, there were still more than 3,600 people who might have been infected for observation in isolation wards or should stay home.

Infected on the Middle East trip
The 68-year-old, who returned from a Middle East trip in May, was the first confirmed Mers patient in South Korea. Mers was first demonstrated in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. Like many cold viruses and the Sars pathogen, it is one of the coronaviruses. An infection is usually associated with flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough and shortness of breath. In severe cases, however, can develop pneumonia and it can lead to kidney failure. Mers leads according to health experts more often to death than is the case with many other infectious diseases. Most Mers diseases occur in the Arabian Peninsula, especially in Saudi Arabia. From there, the pathogen has already been introduced several times to other parts of the world. A few months ago, the Mers virus was diagnosed in Germany. It was a patient who had returned from a trip from Abu Dhabi. (Ad)