Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Tuesday June 09 2015, @03:37AM   Printer-friendly
from the nothing-funny-about-MERS dept.

The World Health Organization expects cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) to spread in South Korea. 200 primary schools are being closed and 1,300 people have been quarantined:

Health officials announced Wednesday [3 June] that five more people had been diagnosed, bringing the total infected with the virus to 30. Two patients have died. That makes the outbreak the largest outside the Arabian Peninsula, where the disease emerged in 2012. The virus, which primarily causes flu-like symptoms such as fever and cough, kills an estimated three to four out of every 10 patients infected.

The situation in South Korea has alarmed the global health community because the virus has spread so fast and wide from a single individual. Other countries have imported cases in the same manner but the virus infected only a few others.

How did MERS get to South Korea and why is it spreading so fast?

The first known case, called an "index" case, was reported on May 20. It involved a 68-year-old man who was returning from a 16-day business trip to four Middle Eastern countries. The man was asymptomatic during his return flight but was subsequently treated at two different out-patient clinics and two hospitals which created a lot of opportunities for the virus to spread. Health care workers did not suspect the man of having MERS so he was not put in isolation.

Others who have been infected include health care workers, other patients, family members and visitors. The World Health Organization reported that some of the cases were patients in the same room or ward as the man, and that their exposure may have been from 5 minutes to a few hours.

Two recent cases represent an alarming development — a third generation of transmission. That is, a patient who did not have contact with the index patient but came into contact with an intermediary who had been exposed to the virus. "That raised fears that infections could now spread exponentially from all people who test positive," Korea's JoongAng Daily reported.

The BBC is announcing the sixth Mers-related death in S Korea and outlining the containment strategy being adopted by the government.

A sixth person has died after contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) in South Korea, amid a sharp rise in infections.

More than 23 people were confirmed to have contracted the disease on Sunday, bringing the total to 87, health officials say.

[...] About 2,300 people have been placed under quarantine and nearly 1,900 schools have been closed.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:29AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:29AM (#193935)

    Your SIG is stupid. Learn bash and modify it you lazy asshole. If you can spend time on here spewing your stupid shit you can take two minutes to read a man page or Google you stupid lazy fatass.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   -1  
       Flamebait=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Flamebait' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   -1  
  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:37AM

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:37AM (#193938) Homepage Journal

    ... you could get a good job, rent your own place, even buy a car.

    Perhaps someday you could even attract the attentions of a cute girlfriend.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:55AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:55AM (#193940)

      Clothes make the Man! If you look like a successful Man, you must be a successful Man. Right?

      Women, stay in the kitchen. If you are female, your only purpose in life is to be cute and find a rich husband. Right?

      And don't be Black. Black people are no good at anything. Right?

      Thanks for setting back the tolerance movement by about 100 years, asshole.

      • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:07AM

        by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:07AM (#193943) Homepage Journal

        I own several, all of them top-quality.

        I wear them because wearing neckties leads women to believe I have a real job.

        --
        Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:14AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:14AM (#193945)

          If you're trolling for women with your neckties, you'll only ever find gold-diggers. I hope you like superficial greedy bitches.

          • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:47AM

            by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:47AM (#193953) Homepage Journal

            I'm always very up-front about my mental illness when I date new women; consider that every page on my site makes my diagnosis plainly apparent.

            My ex-wife first contacted me when she stumbled across my first web page about my experiences with manic depression.

            Just wearing a necktie isn't going to attract gold diggers.

            There is little doubt in my mind that I have better luck with women than you do.

            --
            Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @06:03AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @06:03AM (#193958)

              The ladies adore confident, gregarious, shameless self-promotion, especially when it's all lies.

        • (Score: 2) by lentilla on Tuesday June 09 2015, @03:57PM

          by lentilla (1770) on Tuesday June 09 2015, @03:57PM (#194112)

          Nicely done. You know you shouldn't respond to trolls but that was pretty classy.

      • (Score: 2) by captain normal on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:20AM

        by captain normal (2205) on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:20AM (#193946)

        Ah ha! You've been found out AC: http://dilbert.com/strip/2015-06-07 [dilbert.com]

        --
        When life isn't going right, go left.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:24AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:24AM (#193948)

          I've never even met Dilbert, you moron. It's a bigger world out there than you seem to think it is.

          • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:50AM

            by aristarchus (2645) on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:50AM (#193954) Journal

            Wow! A entire diversion on MJC's tagline! 'Cause it's not proper bash? Dude! That may be the point! Ever think of that? Not to mention you are taking on a self-confessed crazy guy! And wearing ties? Who does that anymore, except people on Game of Thrones? Seriously! So let's all get back to the impending pandemic that can kill us all, as that is slightly more important. Do you know that there is always a minority that survives any pandemic? Have you had your MERS and SARS and H1B2 vaccinations recently? Do you know that your own body is primarily made up of alien lifeforms who are just waiting for you to die? This is what kept me out of medicine. It just seems so pointless. Now cosmology! There someone can make a difference! "Cough, cough" Oh, dear. . . . .

      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:39AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:39AM (#193951)

        Clothes make the Man! If you look like a successful Man, you must be a successful Man.

        No, but it sure affects how people treat you.

        Women, stay in the kitchen. If you are female, your only purpose in life is to be cute and find a rich husband. Right?

        And don't be Black. Black people are no good at anything. Right?

        He didn't say that. Or even said anything which could remotely hint to any of that. What kind of reasoning could have possibly lead you to that conclusion is beyond me.

        Thanks for setting back the tolerance movement by about 100 years, asshole.

        Faux-liberals like you are the most intolerant pile of shitbags in western societies. You literally talk like fucking nazis. No, that's not an exaggeration [reddit.com].

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @06:01AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @06:01AM (#193956)

          Faux-liberals like you are the most intolerant pile of shitbags in western societies. You literally talk like fucking nazis.

          There are no liberals on Faux News! A Ha! Caught in your own lie, are you not? A cowardly pooltron such as yourself should shuffle off to parts unknown and ill famed.