The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak is now in its final stages.

Second Vice Minister Kim Chong of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said during a press briefing for foreign correspondents in Seoul on July 23 that, “There have been no further cases of MERS in Korea since July 4. We are assuming that Korea is approaching the final stages of the outbreak.”

“We lacked an early response when the first MERS cases were identified, but soon after that a joint response system between the government and medical institutions was in full operation. Thanks to efforts made by the medical sector and the active cooperation of the citizens, we are entering the final stages of the disease,” said Vice Minister Kim.

“Based on our experience handling MERS, the government will make efforts to share information and to cooperate with the international community in order to prevent the spread of all infectious diseases,” he added.  



In regard to the timing of declaring an official end to MERS in Korea, Professor Jacob Lee of the Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital said, “Currently, there are a total of 186 confirmed cases of the disease. Among them, 12 patients are receiving medical treatment. Only one person has shown a positive response in a clinical test.

“According to official criteria, when the last patient is confirmed negative, a declaration can be made after twice the number of incubation days has passed, which will be 28 days for MERS,” said Lee, who has been serving as chief of the MERS response team.

“Therefore, we assume that it could be mid-August or at the end of August, and we've been consulting with specialists in this regard,” Lee added.



Also during the briefing, the government introduced new measures to bolster international cooperation on health matters. Kwon Jun-wook, head of the MERS central management task force, said, “In the upcoming Global Health Security Agenda, an international conference on responding to new types of infectious diseases scheduled for September, we will share Korea’s experience on tackling MERS by making the ‘Seoul Declaration’ and will prepare a comprehensive white book on MERS within the year.”

Article by Yoon Sojung
Photos: Jeon Han
Korea.net Staff Writers
arete@korea.kr