After the first MERS case popped up around six months ago back on May 20, South Korea no longer has any patients infected with MERS. Following the international standards, health authorities are planning to announce the official end to MERS 28 days from the quarantine of the last patient, which falls on December 23, right before the holidays. The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that the patient, who was 35-years-old, passed away at Seoul National University Hospital on Wednesday around 3 a.m. (KST).
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The patient had been admitted into Samsung Seoul Hospital's ER this past June 8 and was diagnosed with carrying the MERS virus. Subsequent the diagnosis, the patient struggled with blood cancer and was hospitalized. He was later discharged from the hospital in October when tests came up negative for the virus. He was later readmitted eight days after his discharge because he began to show symptoms of the MERS virus. The patient battled MERS for a span of 172 days, which is the longest period a person had ever fought the virus in the world.
The disease infected a total of 187 people in South Korea and a total of 38 people died after contracting the virus. The fatality of the virus is also marginally higher than before, currently sitting at 20.4%, a 0.04% rise from the previous recorded fatality rate of 20%.
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