Tag: MERS

In Korea’s MERS outbreak, lessons from SARS highlighted http://t.co/YDuU3WkNvg pic.twitter.com/Q9AxXkLCdw

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 9, 2015

According to this CNN article people should not really be all that concerned because the virus is not as contagious as believed:

You can read more at the link.

This is probably a good idea considering that all of the transmissions of the MERS virus has occurred in Korean hospitals:

U.S. Forces Korea is recommending that troops and civilians avoid South Korean hospitals as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome continues to spread across the peninsula.

USFK is also recommending that members of the military community who have been seen since May 15 at any of two dozen South Korean hospitals affected by the potentially deadly virus call their health clinic for a phone evaluation and guidance.

Those who have been treated at other hospitals and are displaying MERS symptoms – fever, cough or shortness of breath – should contact their military medical care provider.

The South Korean government on Sunday listed hospitals that have treated MERS patients, all of whom have contracted the disease in hospitals.

No U.S. troops or USFK civilians have been diagnosed with MERS.

As of Monday morning, 87 people in South Korea had been infected with MERS, including the first teen to contract the disease on the peninsula, and six patients have died, South Korea’s Yonhap News reported.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.  By the way here is a complete list of the hospitals in Korea that the government announced had cases of MERS:

MERS affected hospitals

Samsung Seoul Medical Center (ER)

365 Seoul Yeolin Hospital (Outpatient Clinic)

Pyeongtaek St. Mary’s Hospital

ChoongNam Asan City Asan Seoul Hospital (Outpatient Clinic)

Daejeon Seogu DaeCheong Hospital

Seogu GeonYang University Hospital (ER, 10th Floor)

Seoul Asan Hospital

Seoul Asan Medical Center (ER)

Yoido St. Mary’s Hospital (ER)

Hanaro Clinic

Yoon Chang Ok internal Medicine Clinic

Pyeongtaek Good Morning Hospital

Pyeongtaek Pooren Hospital

Pyeongtaek 365 Yonhap Clinic

Pyeongtaek Park Ae Clinic

Pyeongtaek Yonsei Hub Family Medicine

Dongtan Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital

St. Vincent Hospital (ER)

Medihalls Clinic (Outpatient Clinic)

Bucheon St. Mary’s Hospita21 Gunpo City St. Mary’s Family Medicine Clinic

Osan Hanguk Hospital

CheonAn Danguk University Hospital

Daecheon 365 Yonhap Clinic (Outpatient Clinic)

Soonchang Choi Seonyeong Internal Medicine Clinic (Outpatient Clinic)

It appears most of the hospitals are in the areas of southern Seoul and the Pyeongtaek area.  So people living in those areas should be a little bit more vigilant in regards to washing their hands and going to public places until this outbreak is contained.

It is about time that the government released the names of the MERS infected hospitals so that the public can make a choice on whether they want to go to that hospital or not:

South Korea identified all 24 hospitals affected by the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Sunday, saying it wanted to ensure the public’s safety with transparent information.

Acting Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan disclosed the names of the hospitals at a press conference. The government had earlier identified Pyeongtaek St. Mary’s Hospital, in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, where the first MERS case was confirmed, and Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, one of whose doctors has been diagnosed with MERS and apparently contacted over 1,500 people.

The full list included five more hospitals in Pyeongtaek and five more in the nation’s capital.

“We’re disclosing the hospitals where patients have been diagnosed with MERS, so that we can ensure the people’s safety,” Choi said. “MERS has been spreading across these hospitals, and it forces us to impose strict control on them. Hospitals with confirmed MERS cases in the future will be identified as well.”

The government had been under fire for its refusal to share the names of affected hospitals. It’d reasoned that it didn’t want to generate unnecessary fear, though critics said the government had been doing just that by withholding the information.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but I am assuming the Korean government was slow to give out this information for fear of causing overcrowding at other hospitals by people avoiding these hospitals.  Regardless until the MERS is under control it may be a good thing that the public avoids these hospitals.

South Korean authorities have identified the man who first brought MERS to Korea after traveling to the Middle East:

The World Health Organization warned that the MERS outbreak in South Korea is likely to grow, as the number of people under quarantine crept up to 1,369 on Wednesday.

The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed five new cases — increasing the number of people with the disease to 35. These new cases were contracted within hospitals.

So far, three people have died after contracting the respiratory virus in South Korea, the country’s Health Ministry said Thursday, in the largest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia.

The first case, concerning a man who returned to South Korea after traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain, was reported on May 20. The person had not been ill during his travels, according to the World Health Organization.

More than 900 schools have shut to prevent the spread of the virus, according to South Korea’s education ministry.   [CNN]

You can read more at the link, but the Park Guen-hye government is taking a lot of criticism for not reacting better to the initial outbreak.  I don’t see how the government is to blame for a lack of a hospital not taking the first case seriously from the start.  It seems that once the virus spread the government formed a task force to begin to take measures to stop the spread, but the initial poor handling from the hospital is what is really to blame. However that is the way it goes in Korea where the President tends to get blamed for everything that goes wrong.  It will be interesting to see if the Korean left tries to capitalize on this politically?

Also of interest is that South Korea has closed over 900 schools while us military schools remain open.  It will be interesting to see how long the US military schools remain open if there is any more spread of the virus on Osan AB for example.

https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/606376778353876994

It is pretty bad that a healthcare provider would violate a quarantine and put this many people at risk of contracting the MERS virus:

A medical doctor in Seoul came into contact with over 1,000 citizens while infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the city government said Thursday, sparking concerns of the further spread of the deadly virus.

The doctor, who works for a large general hospital in the capital city, attended large-scale events on the weekend, even after he was ordered into quarantine last week for showing suspected symptoms, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

“On Saturday, the doctor attended the union meeting for the reconstruction of an apartment complex in Gaepo-dong, Seoul, which was attended by a total of 1,565 local people,” Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said in an emergency briefing.

“He also attended two meetings of medical societies he is affiliated with on Saturday and Sunday, and visited several other public places,” he added.

On Monday, he was confirmed as testing positive for MERS and sent to a public facility for MERS patients. He contracted the virus after coming into contact with the country’s 14th MERS patient at the hospital where he works, according to the city officials.

Criticizing the central government for not sharing the relevant information with the municipal government and not doing enough to contain the virus, the mayor vowed “to devise the city’s own countermeasures to protect citizens.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but the MERS virus has now killed 3 people in Korea and continues to spread.  I don’t know how the Korean medical community works, but it seems to me this should be something that should be grounds for removing his medical license.

The Stars and Stripes has an article published now that discusses how a ROK Air Force servicemember has been hospitalized for MERS. Of further interest to those at Osan AB is that schools will remain open for now despite the MERS outbreak:

DODEA Pacific spokesman Charly Hoff said there are no plans to close military schools in South Korea.

“However, the health and well-being of our students and employees remain top priorities, and we are closely monitoring the situation in conjunction with military leaders and health experts,” he said. “Should an operational change become necessary, the principal at the local school will promptly notify students, parents and employees directly.”  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link, but of further interest is that the ROK Air Force servicemember said he caught MERS while being treated for a fracture at a hospital.  It seems that many of these infections are caused by people visiting the hospital where other MERS patients are.  Hopefully the Korean hospitals take extra precautions to stop the spread of the virus within hospitals.

A camel is kept in quarantine at a zoo in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, on June 2, 2015, as the zoo decided to have its camels tested to see whether they are infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). South Korea reported its first two deaths from the virus, with the total number of confirmed local MERS patients increased to 25 as of that day. (Yonhap)

For everyone stationed on Osan Airbase here is something to definitely be aware of:

An Air Force officer was isolated at a military hospital on Wednesday under suspicions he may be infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), military officials said.

If confirmed, it would be the first case of the infection of the deadly respiratory virus in the South Korean military.

The chief master sergeant at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, whose identity was withheld, tested positive for MERS, the officials said.

They said the military instantly isolated him and some 100 soldiers stationed at the same air base at a military hospital and their homes to prevent further infection on the base.

“We isolated a number of soldiers suspected to have contracted the disease to prevent its spread by minimizing others’ contacts with those we suspect are infected,” one of the officials said requesting not to be named. “The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will determine whether he has been infected or not on Thursday or later,” the official said.

The officer previously had been hospitalized for a fracture at a civilian facility in Gyeonggi Province that treated MERS patients, based on which the military conducted epidemiological research.

He, however, is not showing symptoms of the disease such as a fever or cough, the officials said.

South Korea has placed more than 1,300 people in quarantine with 30 testing positive for the respiratory virus since the first case of the disease was reported on May 21. On Tuesday, two of the 30 MERS patients died, sparking panic among some locals and forcing over 500 schools to close.  [Yonhap]

Hopefully base leadership is emphasizing taking appropriate precautions to prevent the spread of the disease on Osan.  Tight barracks space with shared facilities is a perfect place for a disease like this to spread. This whole spread of MERS has shown how minor the whole anthrax incident USFK recently had really was.