Health officials in South Korea have confirmed two more cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the country on Thursday, bringing the total number of patients diagnosed with the fatal illness to seven.
According to reports, a potential third patient allegedly broke from the voluntary quarantine to travel to China.
The two latest MERS patients have been in isolation at their own homes after coming in direct contact with the first confirmed patient, a 68-year-old man who had travelled to the Middle East between April and May.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said one of the two new patients, a 71-year-old man, had shared a hospital room with the first patient before the latter was transferred to another medical facility after having been diagnosed with MERS.
The second patient is a 28-year-old female nurse who worked in the same hospital where the two men were initially confined.
The CDC has placed both new patients in designated facilities for isolation and treatment.
South Korea's Health Ministry said that a 44-year-old man, who showed signs of MERS infection, left his voluntary home quarantine on Tuesday to take a trip to China.
He was advised by his doctors not to travel after he registered a 38-degree Celsius (100-degree Fahrenheit) fever on Monday, which is one of the first symptoms of the illness.
"We should have checked more actively and broadly on family related issues," CDC Director Yang Byung-kook said. "We are deeply sorry about that."
The agency said it has alerted the World Health Organization's (WHO) Western Pacific Region Office about the matter.
The CDC also sent a notice to the Chinese government regarding the man's arrival in China, along with a list of 28 other passengers who sat near the man during his flight to the country.
While there were a total of 158 passengers and eight members of the flight crew aboard the plane, the agency said the MERS disease can only be transferred through close and direct contact with the carrier.
After receiving the notification from Korea's CDC, Chinese health officials tracked down the man and placed him in a local hospital. He was given a medical test for MERS infection in preparation for possible treatment of the disease. The result of the test is expected to come out on Thursday or Friday.
The coronavirus that causes the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome shares the same pathological family as the one that started the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in China in 2013.
There is no known vaccine or cure for MERS as of the moment.
South Korea's Health Ministry said that there are 1,142 confirmed cases of MERS infection in 23 countries around the world. The disease has already killed 465 people.
Photo: Republic of Korea | Flickr
