sheonlylooks25 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 A deadly respiratory disease has sparked widespread panic across South Korea after claiming its first victims in the largest outbreak outside the Middle East. A 58-year-old woman died of acute respiratory failure yesterday and tests later came back positive for MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), the health ministry said. The other victim was a 71-year-old man who was confirmed to have the virus several days ago and who died on Tuesday. Six more South Koreans were diagnosed with the MERS virus Monday night, the ministry said, bringing the total number of people infected to 25 including the two deceased. Around 750 people who were exposed directly or indirectly to the virus have now been placed under mandatory or voluntary quarantine. Passengers wearing masks to prevent contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) ride on a travelator upon arrival at Incheon International Airport in South Korea on Tuesday amid the largest outbreak of the virus outside the Middle East Health Minister Moon Hyung-Pyo appealed to anyone placed under voluntary quarantine for the two-week incubation period to observe isolation guidelines. 'Those who are quarantined must be experiencing a lot of inconvenience in their daily lives, but please closely co-operate for the safety of yourself, your families and your neighbours,' Moon said. He also urged citizens to wear surgical face masks in public places and to wash their hands frequently in order to ward off infection. The outbreak has been met with growing public alarm, and online retailers reported a 700 per cent surge in sales of face masks over the weekend. On Seoul stock markets, share prices of some pharmaceutical firms jumped by the daily limit of 15 per cent on Tuesday, while those of airline and travel operators took a dive. Concerns will be further fuelled by the health ministry's announcement that two of the new cases involved tertiary infections. Previously, all the infections had involved patients in the same hospital as the initial carrier, their relatives or hospital staff with whom he came into contact. 'We are tracking down additional cases (of tertiary infection)... with the possibility of more new infections in mind,' said Kwon Jun-Wook, a senior health ministry official leading an emergency task force team. More are expected to be quarantined or put under observation, Kwon said, adding that some 240 people had been banned from travelling overseas. Three patients are currently in critical condition, he added. Acting prime minister Choi Kyung-Hwan vowed 'all-out efforts' to curb the spread of the virus, citing public concern that the initial response had been 'poor'. 'We should use all our national resources to alleviate public concerns,' he said. One primary school in Gyeonggi province, located near the hospital where the female victim died, closed down temporarily as parents withdrew their children. According to the Yonhap news agency, dozens more schools in the area were also considering temporary shutdowns. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is considered a deadlier but less infectious cousin of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed hundreds of people when it appeared in Asia in 2003. More than 20 countries have been affected by the MERS virus, which has no known cure or vaccine, with most cases in Saudi Arabia where it has claimed more than 400 lives since 2012. South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has scolded health officials over their 'insufficient' response to the outbreak. The authorities were particularly criticised for allowing an infected man to travel to China last week despite warnings from doctors. The 44-year-old left on a business trip on Tuesday, a day after his father was diagnosed with the virus, and was confirmed Friday to have been infected himself. The man flew to Hong Kong before travelling on to the Chinese city of Huizhou, where he is being treated under quarantine. ------------------- I REMEMBER when SARS panic started you could NOT buy a mask anywhere in Australia as the Chinese were bulk buying and sending them back to Hong Kong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hj88 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I live here and hardly anyone is wearing masks (or at least, no more than usual..) although people are talking about MERS. Funnily enough, I've seen a few Chinese wearing masks (although that could be from surgery too!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheonlylooks25 Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 HJ I love your upbeat attitude whereas I am deadly scared of any respiratory illness. When I get the flu which is at least once a year, despite getting the vaccine religiously annually, I have it for 6 months to the point that my boss makes me stay at home for about 2 weeks because everyone is sick of my coughing in the office. When the Bird Flu epidemic started in SE Asia, there was a picture of a big duck on the cover of an Australian magazine, the headline was "Quack, Quack you're dead!" - I remember thinking no freakin' way was a bloody duck going to be the end of me - I haven't started doing all the things I want to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hj88 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Hahaha that article title is too funny! From what Ive read, the people that have died of MERS have had underlying medical conditions, so I think regular, healthy people are probably not at risk. And even if you were having surgery and not feeling 100%, chances are you'd be cooped up in your hotel room until you felt better, not gallivanting around Seoul with MERS. But I'm taking antibacterial hand gel with me just in case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylight Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I don't think antibacterial hand gel is effective for airborne viruses? Or is this airborne? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blasian Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Good thing I have already purchased my mask! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hj88 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 The authorities here are telling us to wash our hands frequently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishingstar Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Looks like 30 are confirmes to be infected now as of this morning, and Taiwan/China/Hong Kong put out a travel advisory....so hundreds of tourists have cancelled trips to Korea. Yikes! Hmm....the travel advisories say to avoid hospitals if possible....do you think that also applies to plastic surgery only clinics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minhyorin Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 The latest info is that Gangnam is the second most affected area in Korea, with the second most number of schools closed. And we all know we won't be going anywhere but Gangnam for PS The Samsung Seoul Hospital in Gangnam near the plastic surgery belt has had the most number of infections in the entire Seoul in fact I would really really like to do it in June because I'll have to wait an entire year if I don't go now, but a few things worry me: 1) how affected Gangnam specifically is 2) the fact that transmission is achieved through sustained interaction in a closed space, which will take place in the surgery room with the nurses and doctors and our sedated bodies (and as we can see from the infected cases even doctors themselves can negligently catch and spread MERS...) 3) those with a weak immune system are vulnerable, and recovering from an operation with open wounds sounds exactly like that I'm not sure how accurate any of my worries are but ahh, such a horrible thing to worry about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishingstar Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I'm in Seoul now (just had surgery), and I'd say 50% of people are wearing masks (including the heavy duty n95 sars masks)! Not sure why the other half isn't. Looks like the 6th death just occurred, and the gov finally released the names of the 24 hospitals. Here is the latest: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/07/world/south-korea-mers-outbreak/ On the bright side, no one can tell I'm wearing a mask due to surgery instead of due to Mers! It's still scary, though. Be safe, everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needachange21 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 You guys think it's gonna be better by August? I really wanted to do my eyes but so scared to go since I'm bringing my baby with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-couture Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 i think it will be under control in august. Mers is a little blown out of proportion i feel but just in case since ure with a babyperhaps don't take the risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blasian Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I bought big box of facial masks. Atleast this way I can disguise my face after surgery. I am a bit afraid of MERS. I just hope it gets better by late next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needachange21 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Or should I go and maybe we can just stay in the hotel? I feel so frustrated cause I feel like I can't wait anymore to have it done. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needachange21 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 What procedure are you going to do if I may ask? And did you already picked a hospital/clinic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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