MERS 'patient zero' recovering

By Kim Se-jeong

The first patient confirmed to have Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Korea is recovering after receiving treatment for over one month, according to health authorities Wednesday.

The 68-year-old man who still has pneumonia tested negative for the virus Tuesday. His MERS infection was confirmed May 20.

The authorities are waiting for the results of a second test, and if that is negative, he will be discharged from the negative pressure quarantine room at the National Medical Center (NMC) and sent to a general ward where he will be treated for pneumonia. His condition is still uncertain and he is having extracorporeal membrane oxygenation intermittently.

He was transferred to NMC from Seoul Medical Center where he was diagnosed with the virus.

If he recovers, he will be the second super spreader to overcome the disease. The nation’s 14th patient, a 35-year-old man, who contracted the virus from the first patient at St. Mary Hospital in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, recovered and was sent home Tuesday.

What became Korea’s worse infectious disease crisis began after the 68-year-old man came back from a trip to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

On May 11, he visited a local clinic in his hometown in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, seeking help for fever and coughing. He didn’t tell his doctor about the trip to Middle East. On his third visit to the clinic, the doctor recommended him to visit St. Mary’s Hospital.

On May 17, he visited the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia. The next day, he was sent to SMC and two days later, he tested positive for MERS.

The patient spread the disease to more than 30 patients, including the 14th patient, mainly at St. Mary’s. Doctors said he was at the hospital when his virus was the most active.

The 14th patient infected 81 people at the SMC’s emergency room where he was admitted on May 27.

The first patient faced harsh criticism online for his failure to talk about his trip to doctors. Doctors only found out about the trip when he arrived at SMC.

Some defended the patient saying it was not his fault. They argued in Korea’s medical care culture where patients shop for doctors, it is difficult for a doctor and patient to have a frank conversation. They also called for a new public medical care system in which people are paired with local doctors who would provide care on a regular basis.