Gov't tracking down 408 people with 'indirect exposure' to MERS patient

By Park Si-soo

The government is tracking down 408 passengers and cabin crew who travelled to Seoul with a newly confirmed MERS patient on Seoul-bound Emirates flight EK 322 on Sept. 7.

This follows the quarantine of 22 people who had direct contact with the patient, including the patient’s family members, medical professionals and a cab driver.

The patient, 61, was diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) after returning from a business trip to Kuwait from Aug. 16 to Sept. 6. He took two flights to get home from Kuwait to arrive in Seoul on Friday _ Emirates EK 860 from Kuwait to Dubai, and Emirates EK 322 from Dubai to Incheon.

“People who are believed to have been in close contact with the patient, including flight attendants, have been asked to stay at home,” said Jeong Eun-kyeong, an official at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MERS swept South Korea in 2015, infecting 186 and claiming 38 lives. Almost 3,000 schools were shut down in June that year, while more than 124,000 foreign tourists, mostly from China, canceled their trips to Korea in the same month.

Typical MERS symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath and diarrhea. A total of 791 MERS-associated deaths have been reported worldwide since it was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. About 35 percent of reported patients with MERS have died.

No specific treatment or vaccine is available. Treatment is only supportive and based on the patient’s condition.

People should call 1339 if they suspect they have MERS symptoms.