MERS deaths in S. Korea rise to 16 with total infections at 150

Deaths from infection with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) increased to 16 in South Korea as two more deaths were reported Monday, while the MERS infection rose to 150 with five new cases, the health ministry said.

The 28th patient, 58, and the 81st patient, 61, died of the viral disease, bringing the total death toll to 16 and the fatality rate to 10.7 percent, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The 28th patient had already suffered from diabetes, but the 81st patient had no chronic disease except bad liver.

Seventeen infectees have been in serious conditions, leaving possibility for a fatality rise. At least 14 patients have recovered completely after being infected as four more people were discharged from hospitals.

Five new MERS cases were identified, raising the total contagion to 150 since the first case was found on May 20.

Four people contracted the MERS virus from other infectees, and one person was a medical staff who caught the virus while doing a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before a MERS infectee passed away.

Among the combined confirmed cases, 17 percent was medical staffs, including doctors and nurses. Nearly half of the MERS infectees were patients who already checked into hospitals.

MERS is a respiratory illness caused by a new type of corona- virus, similar to the SARS virus that killed more than 770 people worldwide following a 2003 outbreak. There is no known vaccine or treatment for the MERS.

The first MERS case was spotted in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The World Health Organization has reported more than 1,000 cases of MERS globally and more than 400 deaths. Endi