Death Toll From MERS Outbreak Rises to 23 in South Korea

At least 23 people have died from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in South Korea.

TOKYO (Sputnik) – At least 23 people have died from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea, the country’s Ministry of Health and Welfare reports.

The number of MERS cases now stands at 165, according to the ministry, which says that the age of 40 percent of the infected is over 50.

More than 6,000 people, including at least 20 foreign nationals, are in quarantine in South Korea amid the outbreak.

The South Korean government has acknowledged that the MERS outbreak, which started in May, is a result of insufficient safety measures during the hospitalization of the first patients diagnosed with the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a Wednesday statement that one of the reasons behind the spread of MERS in South Korea was crowded emergency rooms and excessive patient visits.

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by the MERS-coronavirus. MERS was first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and then spread to other countries.

The virus is introduced from camels to people, with limited human-to-human transmission, according to the WHO. The infection triggers such symptoms as fever, cough and shortness of breath.

There is currently no vaccine for MERS.