By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 08 Jun 2015 • 8:55
Health care workers in full protective gear check a patient who is infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
SOUTH KOREAN authorities have said six people have died of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and at least 23 new cases have been detected this weekend.The deadly virus, which appeared in the country on May 20, has caused almost 1,900 schools to close down and 2,300 people have been put into quarantine.Acting PM Choi Kyung-hwan tried to calm fears, saying there was no reason to expect the virus to spread any further, and explained that so far all the cases had been hospital-associated and no cases of infection had been reported in other social settings.There is no vaccine for the virus, which is believed to be caught through close contact with infected people. It was first noted in humans in 2012, and is caused by a coronavirus of the same family as the one behind SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).
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