WHO figure MERS fatality Rate 36% = higher than 3X of SARS

[SARS_orchard]

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/mers-cov/en/

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)

Fact sheet N°401
Updated May 2015

Key facts

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Typical MERS symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Pneumonia is common, but not always present. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, have also been reported.
Approximately 36% of reported patients with MERS have died.
Although the majority of human cases of MERS have been attributed to human-to-human infections, camels are likely to be a major reservoir host for MERS-CoV and an animal source of MERS infection in humans. However, the exact role of camels in transmission of the virus and the exact route(s) of transmission are unknown.
The virus does not seem to pass easily from person to person unless there is close contact, such as occurs when providing unprotected care to a patient.






http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007192.htm


The death rate from SARS was 9 to 12% of those diagnosed. I

 

[SARS_orchard]

https://tw.news.yahoo.com/南韓婦女疑染mers死亡-上月緊急送院-122832798.html




南韓婦女疑染MERS死亡 上月緊急送院

中央社*–*2015年6月1日 下午8:28
（中央社首爾1日綜合外電報導）韓聯社報導，據南韓衛生當局和警方消息，一名曾與南韓首例中東呼吸症候群（MERS）病患接觸的58歲婦女，5月25日因急性呼吸困難被緊急送往醫院搶救，今天傍晚6時許不治身亡。
這名婦女在京畿道一所醫院接受治療時死亡。衛生當局正在調查這名患者死因是否同MERS有關。
該醫院負責人表示，這名患者5月25日因急性呼吸困難被緊急送往醫院搶救，但最終不治身亡。
多名衛生當局負責人指出，死者不是被確診感染的患者而是疑似患者，曾與韓國首例MERS患者接觸過。
韓國保健福祉部方面表示，衛生當局確認這名婦女因急性呼吸困難死亡，目前正在進行流行病學調查及診斷檢查。
南韓保健福祉部今天稍早表示，截至目前為止，共682人因曾接觸中東呼吸症侯群患者而被隔離，已確診罹患MERS的18名病患中，有5人病情嚴重。
南韓聯合新聞通訊社報導，被隔離的682人中，35%屬高危險群，南韓政府安排他們入住隔離病房，其餘則自宅隔離，並限制他們出境。
報導說，保健福祉部表示，被隔離的682人中，其中61人曾與首例患者在醫院密切接觸。大韓感染學會表示，由於首例患者入住的醫院是中小型規模，疫情控制並不完善。
報導指出，截至目前為止，南韓MERS確診患者已增至18人，其中1人病情好轉，數日後可望出院。但有5人病情惡化，尤其是第6例患者，原先就有腎臟疾病，感染MERS病毒後腎功能更差，因此接受洗腎治療，並使用葉克膜支持心肺功能。1040601
相關內容

 

[SARS_orchard]

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/01/world/south-korea-mers/



South Korean woman in contact with MERS patient dies
By Ashley Fantz, CNN
Updated 1714 GMT (0014 HKT) June 1, 2015
Story highlights
The woman's body is being tested for MERS
MERS is a deadly respiratory virus that has had many cases in Saudi Arabia
(CNN)A South Korean woman who had contact with a patient diagnosed with MERS has died of symptoms that are a hallmark of the dreaded respiratory virus, South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday.

Minister Kwon Jun-wook said the body of the woman, who was in her late 50s, is being tested for the Middle East respiratory syndrome. Officials will report their findings to the public as soon as possible, Kwon said at a Seoul press conference.

If linked to MERS, the woman's case will mark the first MERS-related death in South Korea and the second in Asia.

Eighteen people have been diagnosed with MERS in South Korea, health officials said Monday.

South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare is recommending that the government temporarily ban people exposed to MERS from leaving the country to prevent the virus from spreading, Kwon said.


Scientists are still trying to discern how the virus is contracted. It can cause fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some people also have had gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhea, nausea and vomiting while people with severe complications from the virus suffered pneumonia and kidney failure.

Some people also had gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhea and nausea/vomiting. For many people with MERS, more severe complications followed, such as pneumonia and kidney failure. About 3-4 out of every 10 people reported with MERS have died. Most of the people who died had an underlying medical condition, according to the CDC. Some infected people had only mild symptoms (such as cold-like symptoms) or no symptoms at all.

A paper published in July 2014 in the journal mBio said that it might be airborne.

At the time, there was what the World Health Organization deemed a particularly alarming outbreak, in Saudi Arabia and the United States, CNN reported. The first cases were documented in spring 2012 and were linked to camels.

The researchers detected fragments of the virus in the air at a barn where four of nine camels were infected. They called for additional measures to prevent possible camel to human transmission, but also emphasized that more research was needed.

According to a May WHO report, between the 18th and 23rd of the month, the National Health Regulations arm of WHO received reports of four new cases of MERS in Saudi Arabia, including one death.

As of May 25,WHO has received 1,139 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS globally, including at least 431 related deaths.

In South Korea, a temporary task force focusing on MERS reported that 15 of 18 MERS patients in the country had been in medical facilities and were in direct contact with the first patient to be diagnosed with the virus.

Among those sick, five are in unstable condition, with one in critical. The first patient developed symptoms on May 11 and suffered from pneumonia and respiratory difficulty, but is in stable condition. That means, according to officials, that the person's odds of surviving are greater.

At least 682 people are quarantined in their homes or at medical facilities, Kwon said.

Fear about the virus is gripping many in South Korea. There are no vaccines, no cures and the fatality rate for the illness is high.

 

[SARS_orchard]

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0OH1P120150601?irpc=932




South Korea reports first two deaths from MERS respiratory illness
SEOUL | Mon Jun 1, 2015 5:01pm EDT
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SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea on Tuesday reported the first two deaths from an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that has affected 25 people in two weeks.

A 58-year-old woman who had had contact with South Korea's first patient died of acute respiratory failure on Monday, the Health Ministry said. A 71-year-old man who had been on respiratory support with a history of kidney ailments also died.

The ministry reported new confirmed cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to 25. South Korea now has the third highest number of cases after Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

China reported its first MERS case in a South Korean man who tested positive after breaking a voluntary house quarantine last week, flying to Hong Kong and then travelling to mainland China.

South Korean authorities were considering a ban on overseas travel for the nearly 700 people isolated for possible infection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week there had been no sustained human-to-human spread in South Korea, and that it was not recommending screening of passengers or the imposition of travel or trade restrictions.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Jack Kim; Editing by Kevin Liffey)