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South Korea announces official end to MERS outbreak

South Korea announced on Wednesday the official end to a deadly outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that killed 36 people and sparked widespread panic in Asia's fourth-largest economy. World Health Organization standards call for a four-week waiting period after the last MERS patient fully recovers before an outbreak can definitively be said to be over. The virus infected 186 people, with nearly 17,000 people confined to their homes and thousands of schools temporarily closing at the peak of the largest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, where it first appeared in 2012.

South Korea reports two more deaths in MERS outbreak, three new cases

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea's health ministry reported on Monday two more deaths in the country's Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, bringing the number of fatalities to 27. The ministry also confirmed three new cases, taking the total to 172 in an outbreak that is the largest outside Saudi Arabia. The new fatalities were aged in their 80s with pre-existing health problems, according to the health ministry. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Richard Pullin)

South Korea conducts experimental plasma therapy on MERS patients

By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) – Two South Korean hospitals are conducting experimental treatment on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) patients, injecting them with blood plasma from recovering patients, the health ministry said on Tuesday, as four new cases were reported. The procedure has been conducted on two consenting MERS patients in addition to existing care, the ministry's head of public health policy, Kwon Jun-wook, told a media briefing. “There is insufficient clinical basis about the result of plasma treatment among experts in the country,” Kwon said, but added: “The ministry has deep confidence in the medical staff on the direction of the treatment.” Plasma treatment was previously used in SARS patients with some positive results in seriously ill patients that led to a decrease in the death rate by up to 23 percent, Kwon said.

South Korea reports sixth MERS death, surge in infections

South Korea recorded its sixth death and biggest single day jump in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) infections on Monday, with 23 new cases in the largest outbreak of the potentially deadly virus outside Saudi Arabia. From just four cases two weeks ago, the total number of infections now stands at 87, including six people who have died. The latest fatality was an 80-year-old man who died Monday morning in a hospital in Daejeon, 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of Seoul, the health ministry said.