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                     South Korea Reports 3 More MERS Deaths

   by VOA News

   The death toll from South Korea's MERS outbreak has risen to 23,
   according to officials, a day after the United Nations said
   incompetence had led to the spread of the virus.

   South Korea's health ministry also said Thursday they have confirmed
   three more cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, bringing the
   total number of known infections to 165.

   Seoul officials insist the disease has peaked and is largely contained
   to medical facilities, but concerns are still mounting over what is the
   largest MERS outbreak outside the Middle East.

   The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said South Korean
   officials failed to implement sufficient measures to prevent the spread
   of the disease, for which there is no cure or vaccine.

   Among the main factors the WHO cited as contributing to the outbreak
   were a lack of awareness about the disease among health care workers
   and inadequate infection prevention and control measures in hospitals.
   It also blamed the "close and prolonged contact of MERS patients in
   crowded emergency rooms and multibed rooms in hospitals" and the
   practice of seeking care at multiple hospitals.

   "This outbreak is a wake-up call and [shows] that in a highly mobile
   world, all countries should always be prepared for the unanticipated
   possibility of outbreaks of this, and other serious infectious
   diseases," said the WHO statement.

   But the Geneva-based organization said it does not consider the MERS
   outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

   Over 6,700 people in South Korea have been placed in quarantine after
   having possibly come into contact with individuals infected with the
   disease.

   Public alarm has been widespread, in part because of false online
   rumors and also because MERS symptoms include fever, coughing and
   shortness of breath - all of which are typically associated with
   non-serious illnesses such as the common cold.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/mers-deaths-continue-south-korea/2827
   128.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/mers-deaths-continue-south-korea/2827128.html