The 38-year-old man was moved to a hospital in Dongducheon, just north of Seoul, earlier in the day, as he had showed possible symptoms of the disease, such as high fever. He returned home on Thursday after visiting Dubai. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean man is showing suspected symptoms of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) following a recent trip to the United Arab Emirates, health authorities said Friday.
The 38-year-old man was moved to a hospital in Dongducheon, just north of Seoul, earlier in the day, as he had showed possible symptoms of the disease, such as high fever, they said. He returned home on Thursday after visiting Dubai.
If the man tests positive for the disease, the country would have a fresh MERS outbreak case after a 46-day hiatus, boding ill for the country’s wish to announce an official end to the outbreak that has claimed 36 lives here so far.
South Korea declared a de facto end to the MERS outbreak on July 28, about two months after it reported its first case on May 20.
MERS is a viral respiratory disease that was first discovered in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
The disease has since affected some 1,300 people throughout the world, killing about 36 percent of those infected.
In South Korea, however, the fatality rate of the disease stands at 19.4 percent.
(Yonhap)
