South Korea yesterday reported three more fatalities from the Middle East respiratory syndrom (MERS) outbreak, but health authorities said they were cautiously optimistic the worst was over as the number of new cases was falling.
Four new cases were confirmed yesterday, bringing to 154 the total number of confirmed cases with 19 deaths in what has become the largest outbreak of the virus outside Saudi Arabia.
Of the 154 people, 17 were cured and released from hospital, the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare said.
Photo: Reuters
The number of new cases has been gradually declining from 12 on Friday to four yesterday, sparking hopes that the outbreak might be showing early signs of easing.
“What is noteworthy is the fact that the number of new cases has been falling over the past few days,” a senior health ministry official told reporters.
“More cases are expected to occur sporadically, but we don’t expect to see new cases occur in groups,” he said.
Of the 118 cases being treated, 16 are listed in unstable condition, while most of the fatalities had pre-existing health problems.
A 49-year-old man was the youngest to die from the respiratory illness, but the ministry said he had been suffering from liver cirrhosis and diabetes.
Three of the four new cases were traced to Samsung Medical Center, one of the two epicenters of the outbreak.
Almost half of confirmed cases have been traced to the hospital, one of the most prestigious in South Korea, forcing it to temporarily shut down services on Sunday.
Pyeongtaek St Mary’s Hospital, which has been closed after being traced with the second-largest group of patients, plans to reopen late this month as no more cases have been tracked down to the facility in Pyeongtaek City, 65km south of Seoul.
The ministry has set up telephone hotlines for foreigners living in South Korea, urging them to report to authorities should they develop symptoms and promising compensation if they have to be placed under quarantine, even if they are illegal immigrants.
Two South Korean hospitals are conducting experimental treatment on MERS patients, injecting them with blood plasma from recovering patients, the ministry added.
The procedure has been conducted on two consenting MERS patients in addition to existing care, Kwon Jun-wook, head of the ministry’s public health policy, told a media briefing.
“There is insufficient clinical basis about the result of plasma treatment among experts in the country,” Kwon said, but added: “The ministry has deep confidence in the medical staff on the direction of the treatment.”
Plasma treatment was previously used in SARS patients with some positive results in seriously ill patients that led to a decrease in the death rate by up to 23 percent, Kwon said.
Plasma therapy has not been widely tried for MERS patients, with little clinical study results reported, said Eom Joong-sik, professor of infectious diseases at Hallym University’s medical college.
The Seoul city government yesterday launched a massive disinfection campaign, fumigating thousands of online game parlors and karaoke bars, and distributing tens of thousands of hand disinfectant gels to them.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has criticized the central government for mishandling the outbreak in the initial stages and ordered aggressive preventive measures.
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