Don’t fear MERS, Korean doctors say

SEOUL, South Korea – The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) infection is not something to be afraid of, Korean doctors told a crowd of science journalists from around the world Tuesday, June 9.

During a special session on MERS CoV at the World Conference of Science Journalists held in this city, Kevin Kee-Jong Hong of the Institut Pasteur Korea, an infectious disease research institution, said that the virus has not mutated significantly in Korea.

After studying the first two cases, Korean researchers were able to study the virus and provide initial information on how it can be contained.

Sung Han Kim of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Asian Medical Center said that while there are similarities between the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and MERS outbreak, MERS cannot be easily transmitted. In most cases, MERS is transmitted from person to person in hospitals. There is relatively low record of transmission in households, he said.

As of Wednesday, June 10, MERS has killed at least 9 individuals. However the number of infected cases has sharply declined.

Here are some of the tweets during the special session:

– Rappler.com