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Tue, April 13, 2021 | 10:59
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Fears of MERS put camels in quarantine
"메르스 증상없는데도 대량 격리, 압정에 망치 쓰는 격"
Posted : 2015-06-04 16:47
Updated : 2015-06-04 18:21
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Tourists to Jeju Island walk wearing masks at Jeju International Airport, Thursday, amid fears of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. / Yonhap
Tourists to Jeju Island walk wearing masks at Jeju International Airport, Thursday, amid fears of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. / Yonhap

By Kim Hyo-jin

Camels in zoos across the nation have been quarantined as fears of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) continue to spread throughout the country.

Of 44 camels in Korea, 20 at six local zoos have been isolated from visitors since Tuesday, zoo officials said.

"The act was solely to alleviate public concern," a Seoul National Park official said Friday. "Born and raised in Korea, it is unlikely that they are involved in the spread of MERS."

The official said the park had asked health authorities to test their camels for the virus. But it was a mere formality, he added.

The act came as the Ministry of Health and Welfare recommended the public to stay away from camels as a precaution against MERS transmission earlier this week.

Camels are believed to be carriers of MERS. But those in Korea are not from countries in the Middle East where the virus first emerged in 2012.

All camels in Korea were born and raised here or came from Australia, according to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency.

"Quarantine of camels is meaningless from a medical aspect," Professor Song Dae-sub of Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology was quoted as saying.

People can still have contact with the other 24 camels, owned by a horse-riding farm on Jeju Island. There is no need for concern as they were all imported from Australia, the owner said.



"메르스 증상없는데도 대량 격리, 압정에 망치 쓰는 격"

전문가 '증상 없으면 전염력 없어…접촉자 무조건 격리도 지나친 조처' 주장

보건 당국의 중동호흡기증후군(메르스) 대량 격리 방침이 병의 전염력을 너무 높게 본 과잉 대응이라는 전문가 지적이 나왔다.

서울아산병원 감염내과 김성한 교수는 '메르스는 고열 등 증상이 나타나야 감염력이 생기는데, 1천명 이상을 격리하는 현 조처는 '감염자만 1천명'이란 잘못된 인상을 대중에 줄 수 있다'고 4일 밝혔다.

김 교수는 '메르스는 아무리 변이해도 (유사 바이러스 질환인) 중증급성호흡기증후군(사스)보다 전염력이 클 수 없다'며 '사스조차 무(無)증상 감염자가 전염에 중요한 고리 역할을 했다는 근거가 없는 만큼, 증상이 없는 메르스 환자가 병을 옮긴다고 보긴 어렵다'고 설명했다.

그는 '확진자와 접촉한 적은 있어도 증상이 없는 교사 때문에 학교 문을 닫고 서울대공원의 낙타를 격리하는 것은 비이성적 현상' 이라면서 '현재 메르스 대처는 압정을 박으려고 해머(망치)를 쓰는 꼴'이라고 강조했다.

김 교수는 보건 당국이 애초 첫 메르스 환자를 조기 발견하지 못해 감염자가 대거 발생하자 실책을 만회하고자 현재 너무 많은 사람들을 격리 대상자로 관리하려는 것 같다고 우려했다.

격리 기준이 되는 '환자와의 긴밀한 접촉'은 전문적 지식이 있는 역학 조사관이 실제 접촉 시간을 토대로 신중히 판단해야 하는데, 단순 접촉 사실이 있다는 것 만으로 격리 대상에 포함하는 것은 옳지 않다는 것이다.

김 교수는 '미국 사례를 봐도 메르스 환자와 접촉한 사람은 증상 여부를 잘 관찰하고 증상 발현 전까지 등교 등 일상 생활을 하라고 권고한다'며 '전염병 발생 초기에는 철저한 격리 조처를 펴는 것이 옳지만 지금 같은 단계에서 격리 대상을 너무 넓히는 것은 공포감 조성 등 부작용을 낳는다'고 덧붙였다.

메르스는 2012년 사우디아라비아에서 발견된 전염병으로 한국에서는 지난달 20일 첫 감염자가 확인된 이후 모두 35명의 환자가 나왔고 이중 2명이 숨졌다. (연합뉴스)
Emailhyojinkim@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
MERS death toll rises; 1,600 quarantined
Another person has died from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), according to health authorities Thursday. The male patient was the first death from a tertiary infection, and ...









 
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