SEOUL: South Korean health authorities are still trying to track down about 50 foreigners who could have come in contact with a recently confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) patient - the country's first case in three years.

The individuals include those who were on the same flight as the 61-year-old male patient, who arrived on an Emirates flight in Incheon Airport from Dubai on Friday (Sep 7), local reports said.

A Korea Herald report on Tuesday cited the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) as saying that it was difficult to track the individuals down, as foreign travellers in Korea usually do not have local phone numbers.

The authorities are also looking at public surveillance camera footage, as well as local accommodations, in the hopes of locating the travellers, the report said.

The update comes two days after the KCDC upgraded its National Infectious Disease alert level from “blue” to “yellow”.

A “blue” alert level refers to no immediate threat of importing MERS cases to South Korea, while a “yellow” alert means domestic importation of the disease from abroad has occurred.

The Korean patient was diagnosed with MERS on Saturday after returning home from Kuwait the day before.

He took two flights on his return trip - Emirates EK860 from Kuwait to Dubai, and EK322 from Dubai to Seoul. The second flight he was on had about 440 passengers, the Korea Herald said.

The report also cited Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon as suggesting that the patient may have been aware of his MERS infection during his stay in Kuwait, as he had asked his wife to wear a mask before meeting him at the airport.

The patient also chose to immediately take a taxi by himself to a hospital in Seoul upon his arrival at Incheon.

In a statement, the KCDC said it is working closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to track the contacts of the patient.

KCDC head Chung Eun-gyeong said that the authorities have traced and quarantined about 20 people who came in “close contact” with the man. They include medical staff, flight attendants and passengers of the plane.

“The names and information of other contacts, including the 440 individuals on the same flight as the patient, have been provided to local government agencies, and passive surveillance is being conducted,” the KCDC added.

In an update on Sep 11, Yonhap News Agency confirmed that five out of six people who had shown symptoms of MERS have tested negative for the disease. The sixth person is awaiting the results of a second test.

Nineteen South Koreans currently staying in Kuwait have also been tested for MERS and their results are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, Yonhap added. These individuals are believed to have been in contact with the confirmed patient.

The KCDC has advised individuals visiting the Middle East to wash their hands frequently and maintain proper personal hygiene. They are also advised against visiting local farms, coming into contact with camels or consuming camel products.

These individuals should also avoid visiting local hospitals and medical facilities unless absolutely necessary. </s> SEOUL
• A South Korean man has been diagnosed with the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) and is being treated at a hospital in Seoul, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has said.

The 61-year-old patient had been on a business trip to Kuwait from Aug 16 to Sept 6, and returned to Seoul via the United Arab Emirates last Friday, according to the KCDC.

This is the first time since July 2015 that an outbreak of Mers has been reported in South Korea, Reuters reported.

"As far as we know, 20 people, including flight attendants and medical staff, have been in close contact with the patient and they are under isolation at home," KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a press briefing yesterday.

The patient visited a local hospital during his stay in Kuwait for diarrhoea, which recurred on his way back home, the Yonhap news agency reported.

He was rushed to the emergency room of Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul after he arrived at Incheon International Airport.

He has then transferred to Seoul National University (SNU) Hospital, where he tested positive for the disease.

Dr Kim Nam-jung,who is treating the patient at the SNU Hospital, said the man is not in a critical condition now but warned that his condition could deteriorate in the next one to two weeks "judging from our experiences from the previous outbreak".

The infectious disease swept South Korea in 2015, leading to 38 fatalities. Mers is thought to be carried by camels and most of the known human-to-human transmission cases have occurred in healthcare settings. </s> SEOUL (KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - South Korean health authorities are searching for some 50 foreign nationals who may have been in contact with the recently confirmed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) patient, including those who arrived in Incheon Airport from Dubai on the same flight last Friday (Sept 7).

The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it was difficult to track the individuals down, as foreign travellers in South Korea usually do not have local phone numbers.

Authorities are going through public surveillance camera footage, as well as local accommodations, in the hopes of locating the travellers and having them tested for the infectious disease.

The South Korean patient, 61, was diagnosed with Mers in Seoul last Saturday after returning from a business trip to Kuwait the day before. He took two flights to get home via Dubai - Emirates EK 860 from Kuwait to Dubai, and Emirates EK 322 from UAE to South Korea.

Flight EK 322, carrying some 440 people including the patient, arrived in Incheon from Dubai at 4.51pm last Friday.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon suggested on Monday that the patient may have been informed of his Mers infection during his stay in Kuwait, prior to his return home.

The fact that the patient asked his wife to wear a mask prior to meeting him at the airport, and that he chose to take a cab by himself when he rushed to a hospital in Seoul upon his arrival in Incheon led him to that conclusion, the mayor said.

Related Story South Korean man infected by Mers virus, first case in 3 years

It has been confirmed that the patient's wife drove separately to the hospital from the airport.

The incubation period for Mers - that is, the time between exposure to the Mers virus and the onset of symptoms - ranges from two to 14 days, and it is believed that Mers patients are contagious beginning one day before symptoms develop.

The confirmed South Korean patient already had one of the major symptoms - diarrhea - while in Kuwait, meaning he had been contagious prior to, during and after his return trip to South Korea.

More than 10 online petitions have been filed with the presidential office asking that the patient be punished for supposedly concealing his medical condition.

The fact that he tried to protect his wife while potentially exposing others to the virus, including the cab driver and those who later travelled on the same taxi, infuriated many of the petitioners. One of the petitions had received some 300 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is also searching for individuals who unknowingly travelled on the same taxi which the patient used to get to the Samsung Medical Centre from the Incheon International Airport on Friday. A total of 23 credit card transactions have been made for the cab after the patient was dropped off at the Seoul hospital.

The cab driver is currently under quarantine along with some 20 others, including medical professionals and flight attendants who are believed to have been in contact with the patient.

During his business trip to Al-Zour, Kuwait, from Aug 16 to Sept 6, it is believed that the patient shared accommodations with some 20 South Korean nationals. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the patient visited a local hospital in Kuwait twice during his stay there, as he had diarrhea.

The city government also claimed that the patient had postponed his return trip to South Korea from Sept 4 to Sept 7, as he was feeling too ill to travel.

The health authorities have been told by the patient that no south Korean national who stayed at his accommodation in Kuwait experienced Mers symptoms.

Still, a total of 19 South Koreans currently staying in Kuwait, who are believed to have been in contact with the confirmed patient, have been tested for Mers at a local medical facility, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said. Their results are scheduled to be released on Wednesday (Sept 12).

Symptons of Mers include fever, cough, shortness of breath and diarrhea. </s> SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean man, 61, was diagnosed with the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and is being treated at a hospital in Seoul, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Saturday.

The patient returned to Seoul on Friday after a business trip to Kuwait from August 16 to Sept. 6, according to the KCDC.

This is the first time since July 2015 that an outbreak of MERS has been reported in South Korea.

“As far as found by now, 20 people including flight attendants and medical staff have been in close contact with the patient and they are under isolation at home,” KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a press briefing.

The patient, who was suffering from diarrhea, headed directly to Samsung Medical Center from the airport, Jeong said. He is now in an isolation ward at Seoul National University Hospital.

The KCDC director said all flights from Middle East countries have been put into quarantine. “The KCDC and local governments will do our best to prevent spread of the MERS,” Jeong noted.

The infectious disease swept South Korea in 2015 leading to 38 fatalities. MERS is thought to be carried by camels and most of the known human-to-human transmission has occurred in healthcare settings. </s> SEOUL, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- South Korean health authorities are struggling to track foreign passengers who were on the same plane with a sick traveler who was diagnosed with MERS, as the government seeks to contain the spread of the infectious respiratory disease.

A 61-year-old man was diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Saturday after he returned from his business trip to Kuwait. The patient traveled with a colleague on Emirates flights from Kuwait via Dubai to Incheon.

Health authorities said they were unable to reach some 50 foreign passengers among a total 115 on the same plane with the MERS patient, according to Yonhap.

A 24-year-old British woman on the flight showed symptoms of MERS but has tested negative and was released from the hospital.

Health authorities have traced those who came into contact with the sick traveler, including his South Korean co-workers in Kuwait.

As of Monday, South Korean authorities had confirmed 21 people who came into close contact with the patient and 417 who were in the same places.

The MERS patient stayed in Kuwait from Aug. 16 to Sept. 6 and experienced stomach ache and diarrhea, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MERS, also known as a camel flu, is an infectious respiratory disease that originated in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has potential to cause large outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization. Patients experience fever, cough and shortness of breath.

Travelers from the Middle East are requested to report any symptoms of MERS when entering South Korea.

In 2015, South Korea saw 38 people die in a MERS outbreak. A total of 116 MERS patients have been reported this year, including 114 in Saudi Arabia, one in the United Arab Emirates and one in Oman. </s> SEOUL: A South Korean man, 61, was diagnosed with the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and is being treated at a hospital in Seoul, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Saturday (Sep 8).

The patient returned to Seoul on Friday after a business trip to Kuwait from Aug 16 to Sep 6, according to the KCDC.

This is the first time since July 2015 that an outbreak of MERS has been reported in South Korea. KDBD said more details would be released at a news briefing at 1030 GMT.

The infectious disease swept South Korea in 2015 leading to 38 fatalities. MERS is thought to be carried by camels and most of the known human-to-human transmission has occurred in healthcare settings. </s> 'Authorities have traced and separated 20 people who have come in close contact with the infected person,' says the head of Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea reported its first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 3 years, health officials said on Saturday, September 8.

A 61-year-old businessman was diagnosed with the highly contagious viral respiratory illness, according to officials at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

He returned to South Korea Friday from a business trip in Kuwait where he stayed for 3 weeks, the KCDC said a statement.

"Authorities have traced and separated 20 people who have come in close contact with the infected person," KCDC head Chung Eun-gyeong told journalists.

They include medical staff, flight attendants and passengers of the plane the man flew back to South Korea on, she said.

He was hospitalized with fever and phlegm and has been quarantined at a university hospital, she added.

It is the first case of MERS diagnosed in South Korea since 2015, when an outbreak killed 38 people and triggered widespread panic. – Rappler.com </s> South Korea reports first MERS case in three years

SEOUL: South Korea reported its first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in three years, health officials said on Saturday. A 61-year-old businessman was diagnosed with the highly contagious viral respiratory illness, according to officials at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). He returned to South Korea Friday from a business trip in Kuwait where he stayed for three weeks, the KCDC said a statement. “Authorities have traced and separated 20 people who have come in close contact with the infected person,” KCDC head Chung Eun-gyeong told journalists. They include medical staff, flight attendants and passengers of the plane the man flew back to South Korea on, she said. He was hospitalised with fever and phlegm and has been quarantined at a university hospital, she added. It is the first case of MERS diagnosed in South Korea since 2015, when an outbreak killed 38 people and triggered widespread panic. </s> The first case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus has been confirmed in South Korea since the outbreak that affected the country in 2015 leaving 187 infected and 38 dead.

‘The patient, a 61-year-old man, was diagnosed with the MERS virus on Saturday after returning from a business trip in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with transit in Kuwait, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.’

The patient was admitted to a hospital in Kuwait when he began to show some symptoms of the disease and upon arrival to South Korea was transferred to the Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul.The hospital alerted the authorities that it could be a possible case of MERS as symptoms included high fever and pneumonia and moved the patient to the Seoul National University Hospital where he tested positive for the potentially deadly virus.Around 20 people who were in close contact with the patient, including passengers and crew members of his flight and immigration officers, have been quarantined to prevent the spread of the virus.This is the first case of MERS in South Korea since its outbreak recorded between May and December 2015, after this virus was first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and subsequently expanded to other countries.The mortality rate of MERS in South Korea reached 20 per cent during the outbreak, below the figures between 30 and 40 per cent that were recorded in other areas.Most of the 38 deaths that occurred due to the virus in South Korea were elderly people or patients affected by other illnesses.Source: IANS
South Korean health authorities announce that they are searching for around 50 foreign nationals who may have been in contact with the recently confirmed MERS patient, including those who arrived in Incheon Airport from Dubai on the same flight last Friday.