Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
No measles transmission detected after first case reported on Jeju since 2019
A sign says visitors should wear face masks amid a rise in cases of measles nationwide, at Konyang University Hospital in Daejeon, in this Jan. 23, 2019, file photo. There have been no signs of a major outbreak of measles on Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju after a tourist was confirmed to be infected with the disease last week, officials said on Monday.
By Jung Min-ho
There have been no signs of a major measles outbreak on Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju after a tourist was confirmed to have been infected with the disease last week, officials said on Monday.
According to the Jeju provincial government, the results of its epidemiological investigation show that none of the 74 people who came into contact with the patient exhibited any symptoms of measles, such as fever or a red rash.
This is the first confirmed measles case on the island since 2019.
According to officials, the tourist arrived on Feb. 1 after entering Korea from Vietnam on Jan. 22. The person was found to have traveled in Vietnam for nearly two months before coming to Korea.
The tourist began showing symptoms of measles on Feb. 3 and was diagnosed with the disease three days later.
Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that causes fever, a runny nose and a rash. Once quite common, it has nearly disappeared in Korea, thanks to the widespread use of effective vaccines.
Last year, 49 people were confirmed to have been infected with measles in the country. All the patients were found to have contracted the virus either while traveling overseas or through transmission from infected travelers.