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1 more MERS infection added in S. Korea, no death for 3 days

Xinhua, July 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

One more case of infection with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was added in South Korea on Friday, but no deaths were reported for three days in a row, the health ministry said.

A nurse of Samsung Medical Center in Seoul became the 184th patient as the 24-year-old woman contracted the virus while treating other infectees at the isolated hospital ward, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

No MERS case had been identified for four days through Wednesday, but one more case was added on Thursday and Friday each. It indicated the abating spread of the MERS virus since the first patient was found on May 20.

No death was reported for three straight days, leaving the death toll at 33.

Seven more patients were discharged from hospitals as they completely recovered after being infected. The total discharge number increased to 109.

Excluding the dead and those discharged, 42 patients are under treatment. Among them, 12 are still in unstable conditions.

The number of those quarantined decreased from 2,247 on Thursday to 2,076 on Friday.

The MERS is a respiratory illness caused by a new type of corona-virus that is similar to the virus causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease, with its fatality rate reaching around 40 percent.

The first 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