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Thu, February 9, 2023 | 08:30
-------------------------
Korean diagnosed with MERS in China
초기방역 구멍에 메르스 '3차감염' 우려 고조
Posted : 2015-05-29 16:55
Updated : 2015-05-30 12:46
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12 cases confirmed, 120 quarantined and more suspected

By Jung Min-ho

A Korean man who flew to China despite exhibiting the symptoms of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was confirmed to have contracted the deadly virus, Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday.

Chinese health authorities came to the conclusion after conducting two tests on the 44-year-old, the ministry said. He is the first-ever MERS patient confirmed in China.

The ministry's latest report raised the number of Korean patients diagnosed with the virus to 12, the largest number among non-Middle Eastern countries.

The ministry is scrambling to track down people he had contact with at home, his workplace and the airport before he took an Asiana Airlines flight bound for to Hong Kong, Tuesday, and then a coach to Guangdong. It will send several epidemiologists to China.

However, the task of finding everyone he was in contact with over 11 days and to keep all of them under quarantine is expected to be difficult. Ministry officials believe that he contracted MERS from the country's first patient, a 68-year-old man, at a hospital on May 16 when he visited his father who shared a ward with the man and later became the third patient.

Some 120 people have already been quarantined in Korea, including the 10th patient's colleagues, flight attendants and one passenger who sat near him on the plane. Other passengers near him will be quarantined immediately when they return to Korea.

Some worry that the ministry's mishandling of the virus could negatively affect Korea's diplomatic relations with China. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shrugged off the concern.

"Given that it was an individual's behavior and was not intentional, the case is unlikely to be addressed on the national level," a foreign ministry official told The Korea Times. "At the moment, the ministry will not express a formal regret or apology to Beijing over the matter."

'No problem with China'
2015-05-29 16:52  |  National

The official said that if a Chinese patient came to Korea in similar situation, Seoul would also not demand an apology.

Besides the man in China, four additional cases of MERS were reported Friday.

The condition of two of the MERS patients deteriorated sharply Friday, so medical staff put them on respirators to support their breathing, the ministry said.

When it confirmed the first patient a week ago, the ministry played down the danger of the virus, saying it "had little risk" of spreading further.

But rather than petering out, the virus seems to be ramping up. As fear of MERS spreads quickly, Minister Moon Hyung-pyo has vowed to contain it "by any means possible."

"We will set up a tighter quarantine system to dispel public concern," he said. "Since the first case was found, we tried to keep it under control. But the moves weren't enough."

Vice Minister Jang Ok-joo has taken charge after Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Yang Byung-kook apparently failed to do his job.

The ministry said it plans to fine medical staff who do not report suspected cases to the government, and people who refuse to have tests even after showing MERS-like symptoms, 2 million won ($1,800).

Suspected patients are supposed to stay at home or at ministry-designated hospitals after coming into close contact with someone with MERS and undergo regular monitoring.

But the monitoring was obviously patchy; the patient in China had no problem passing through immigration at Incheon International Airport and getting on a plane, which had 158 passengers and eight crewmembers onboard.

MERS is a viral respiratory illness that has a fatality rate of about 40 percent and no specific treatment. Since the first case was confirmed in Saudi Arabia in 2012, over 1,100 cases have been reported in 23 countries.

A MERS vaccine is unlikely to be available anytime soon. Experts say it will take years for any effective vaccine to be tested and approved by regulators.




초기방역 구멍에 메르스 '3차감염' 우려 고조

국내 중동호흡기증후군(MERS·메르스) 환자가 29일 오후 현재 9명으로 늘어난 가운데 메르스 바이러스의 '3차 감염' 사례가 나올 가능성이 점차 커지고 있다.

보건당국의 미흡한 초기 대응 탓에 바이러스가 이미 병원 등 방역 테두리를 벗어나 '대중 사이 본격 전파' 국면에 접어들었을 수도 있다는 얘기다.

◇ 중국행 의심환자 수 백명 접촉…9번째 환자 행적 불분명 

3차 감염은 첫 환자로부터 직접 감염된 2차 감염자로부터 메르스 바이러스가 옮은 경우를 말한다. 지금까지 국내에서 확인된 9명의 메르스 환자는 모두 2차 감염자였다. 바레인 등 중동지역 여행을 마치고 돌아온 국내 첫 메르스 환자 A(68)씨와 직접 접촉한 가족 또는 의료인이었기 때문이다.

하지만 지금까지 드러난 일부 2차 감염자 또는 감염 의심자의 행적을 보면 당장 3차 감염자가 나온다고 해도 전혀 이상할 것이 없는 상황이다.

우선 중국 위생당국으로부터 메르스 확진 판정을 기다리고 있는 한국인 메르스 의심 환자(44)의 경우 메르스 바이러스에 노출된 뒤 13여일 동안 별다른 제제없이 중국까지 건너가 활동하며 수 백명의 사람과 접촉했다.

그는 지난 16일 국내 세 번째 메르스 환자 C(76)씨와 첫 환자 A씨가 입원한 병실에 4시간 머물렀고, 26일 오후 1시께 한국발 아시아나항공 OZ723편으로 홍콩에 도착했다. 이후 버스를 타고 중국 광둥(廣東)성 후이저우(惠州)로 떠났다

이 의심 환자가 탄 비행기에는 한국인 80명, 중국인 73명 등 승객 158명과 승무원 8명이 함께 탑승했고, 버스에도 약 10명이 동승했다.

홍콩 위생방역센터가 3차 감염 가능성을 염두에 두고 추적 조사 대상에 포함시킨 인원만 무려 약 200명에 이를 정도다.

한국 보건 당국도 그와 접촉한 국내인 42명을 격리조치하고 있지만, 처음 증상이 처음 나타난 시점(19일) 이후로만 따져도 11일에 이르는 기간의 모든 행적과 접촉자를 완벽하게 파악하기 어렵기 때문에, 이미 국내에서 3차 감염이 이뤄졌을 가능성도 배제할 수 없다.

이날 국내 아홉번째 메르스 환자로 확진받은 I(56)씨를 통한 3차 감염도 우려된다. I씨는 A씨와 같은 병동 다른 병실에 입원한 환자였는데, 이후 다른 병원으로 옮겨져 치료를 받던 중 메르스 감염자로 확인됐다.

하지만 I씨는 지금까지 격리 대상자가 아니었고, 비교적 활동이 많은 50대이기 때문에 보건당국으로서는 메르스 바이러스의 잠복기(2~14일)에 I씨가 어떤 장소에서 몇 명의 사람들과 접촉했는지 일일이 추적해 3차 감염 여부를 살펴야 하는 어려운 상황이다.

◇ 복지부 '2차 감염에서 끊지 못하면 최악의 상황'

보건당국조차 이미 3차 감염이 이뤄졌을 가능성을 부인하지 않고 있다.

권준욱 보건복지부 공공보건정책관은 이날 브리핑에서 '지역사회 전파의 경우 한 케이스(사례) 정도 있을 수도 있다'면서도 '하지만 지속적으로 유지되는 지역사회 전파는 현재까지 발견되지 않았다'고 밝혔다.

정부는 사태가 '연쇄적 3차 감염'이라는 최악의 상황으로 치닫지 않도록 방역 역량을 집중하고 있다. 

문형표 보건복지부 장관은 이날 직접 주재한 중앙메르스관리대책본부 회의에서 '개미 한 마리라도 지나치지 않는다는 자세로 하나하나 철저하게 대응해서 국민이 정부 대응체계를 신뢰해 안심하고 생활할 수 있도록 최선을 다해야 한다'고 말했다.

특히 문 장관은 '여러 가지 대응책을 마련해 펼쳐왔지만, 그 어떤 것도 충분하지 않았다'는 질책성 발언과 함께 '누락된 접촉자가 있는지 철저하게 확인해 3차 감염이 발생하지 않도록 하라'고 당부했다 

권 정책관도 '지역 사회로 퍼지기 이전에 1차 감염, 2차 감염으로 끊어야한다'며 '더 나간다는 것은 최악의 상황으로 갈 수도 있기 때문'이라고 강조했다.

정부가 의료인의 늑장 신고나 감염 의심자의 역학조사 기피 등에 대한 엄중 대처 방침을 계속 역설하는 것도 결국 방역망이 뚫려 '3차 감염'을 통해 삽시간에 바이러스가 퍼지는 상황을 두려워하기 때문이다.  

보건당국은 의협을 통해 의료인들에게 메르스 감염 의심자를 진찰한 사실을 뒤늦게 신고하면 200만원의 벌금을 물게된다는 사실을 다시 통보했다. 역학조사에 협조하지 않거나 자택 격리를 거부하는 감염 의심자 역시 각각 200만원, 300만원의 벌금을 내야한다. (연합뉴스)
Emailmj6c2@ktimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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