EXCLUSIVE A case revealing loopholes of MERS quarantine guidelines
Quarantine officers ask health-related questions to travelers with high body temperature arriving from the United Arab Emirates, at Incheon International Airport, Monday, two days after a man was confirmed to have contracted Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) during a visit to Kuwait. / Yonhap
By Kim Jae-heun
By Kim Jae-heun, Lee Kyung-min
With growing concerns over the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) here following the first confirmed case in three years ― a 61-year-old man Saturday ― the government has assured the public it will do all it can to contain the disease.
However, it is apparently failing to deal with suspected cases.
A man in his 20s in Seoul, who wished not to be named, travelled to Dubai with his colleagues last week. Since returning to Korea last Friday, he has been suffering from diarrhea, the same symptom of the confirmed patient who is suspected of having contracted the disease also during a trip to Kuwait.
The man said he rode a camel there, an act which the health authorities tell people to avoid doing so as not to contract the disease. Not only he but also several of his colleagues have been showing similar symptoms.
Hearing the news of the confirmed MERS patient a day after his arrival here, the man contacted the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) immediately.
Despite his apparent symptom, his travel history to Dubai and his contact with a camel, the KCDC said he doesn't need to go to a hospital for these minor signs.
“The KCDC said I need to suffer from both fever and difficulty in breathing. Only having diarrhea and my travel record to Dubai is not enough for them to take action. I was told to stay at home but I think this response is very lax,” he told the Korea Times.
“How are they so sure I am not affected with MERS just because I don't have a fever and respiratory difficulty at the same time? The media is talking as if you can get immediate treatment when you report your suspected MERS symptoms to the authorities, but the KCDC has not got back to me yet since it told me to wait for a phone call three days ago. It said it was too busy,” he added.
According to him, the KCDC said he can visit a hospital if he thinks he has MERS but warned him not to use public transportation.
“And, of course, it told me to pay for my own medical treatment,” he said.
The man said the health authorities should broaden its standards for quarantine on suspected MERS cases, to avoid the same mistake they made Friday when they let the MERS patient through at Incheon International Airport even though he reported he had diarrhea.
“You don't have to wait for people suspected of having MERS to develop the disease into a serious stage for medical treatment. If I have MERS and I have been going around town, it will be too late for the authorities to control the disaster after my case is confirmed as MERS,” he said.
The Korean Medical Association (KMA) also criticized the government and called its quarantine management a failure.
“The 61-year-old patient reported that he traveled to a Middle Eastern country and suffered a stomachache with diarrhea. He also noted his visit to a local medical center in Kuwait. The patient should have been sent to hospital immediately,” a KMA official said. “If we do not want to face a similar MERS disaster like the one in 2015, we need a tighter quarantine system.”
Efforts to control MERS
The health authorities are under great pressure to contain the further spread of the disease, the incubation period of which is up to two weeks, especially ahead of the Chuseok holiday from Sept. 23 to 26, a period when millions of people travel to every part of the country.
According to the KCDC, 22 people who came in close contact with the confirmed MERS patient have been quarantined at home including his wife, passengers who occupied nearby seats, medical staff, flight attendants, and quarantine and immigration officials.
The government has been providing one-on-one care, and monitoring 440 others who possibly came into contact with him, such as other passengers of the plane. While they were not quarantined, community healthcare center officials near their homes will regularly check on them to see if they develop fever, coughing, shortness of breath or other MERS symptoms over the next two weeks.
Municipal governments are in the process of identifying 115 foreign passengers who were aboard the same aircraft as him to help them report to the health authorities about possible MERS symptoms.
The KCDC said Monday a woman from the U.K., who has been quarantined at the National Medical Center (NMC) in central Seoul, tested negative for the virus. She was aboard the same plane as the confirmed patient and showed symptoms of a light fever and coughing. The center will conduct a second test soon to confirm her condition.
A Korean man in Kuwait, a co-worker of the confirmed patient, was hospitalized there after showing symptoms of fever and coughing, but he also tested negative, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.