SEOUL (KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - South Korean health authorities are searching for some 50 foreign nationals who may have been in contact with the recently confirmed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) patient, including those who arrived in Incheon Airport from Dubai on the same flight last Friday (Sept 7).

The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it was difficult to track the individuals down, as foreign travellers in South Korea usually do not have local phone numbers.

Authorities are going through public surveillance camera footage, as well as local accommodations, in the hopes of locating the travellers and having them tested for the infectious disease.

The South Korean patient, 61, was diagnosed with Mers in Seoul last Saturday after returning from a business trip to Kuwait the day before. He took two flights to get home via Dubai - Emirates EK 860 from Kuwait to Dubai, and Emirates EK 322 from UAE to South Korea.

Flight EK 322, carrying some 440 people including the patient, arrived in Incheon from Dubai at 4.51pm last Friday.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon suggested on Monday that the patient may have been informed of his Mers infection during his stay in Kuwait, prior to his return home.

The fact that the patient asked his wife to wear a mask prior to meeting him at the airport, and that he chose to take a cab by himself when he rushed to a hospital in Seoul upon his arrival in Incheon led him to that conclusion, the mayor said.

Related Story South Korean man infected by Mers virus, first case in 3 years

It has been confirmed that the patient's wife drove separately to the hospital from the airport.

The incubation period for Mers - that is, the time between exposure to the Mers virus and the onset of symptoms - ranges from two to 14 days, and it is believed that Mers patients are contagious beginning one day before symptoms develop.

The confirmed South Korean patient already had one of the major symptoms - diarrhea - while in Kuwait, meaning he had been contagious prior to, during and after his return trip to South Korea.

More than 10 online petitions have been filed with the presidential office asking that the patient be punished for supposedly concealing his medical condition.

The fact that he tried to protect his wife while potentially exposing others to the virus, including the cab driver and those who later travelled on the same taxi, infuriated many of the petitioners. One of the petitions had received some 300 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is also searching for individuals who unknowingly travelled on the same taxi which the patient used to get to the Samsung Medical Centre from the Incheon International Airport on Friday. A total of 23 credit card transactions have been made for the cab after the patient was dropped off at the Seoul hospital.

The cab driver is currently under quarantine along with some 20 others, including medical professionals and flight attendants who are believed to have been in contact with the patient.

During his business trip to Al-Zour, Kuwait, from Aug 16 to Sept 6, it is believed that the patient shared accommodations with some 20 South Korean nationals. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the patient visited a local hospital in Kuwait twice during his stay there, as he had diarrhea.

The city government also claimed that the patient had postponed his return trip to South Korea from Sept 4 to Sept 7, as he was feeling too ill to travel.

The health authorities have been told by the patient that no south Korean national who stayed at his accommodation in Kuwait experienced Mers symptoms.

Still, a total of 19 South Koreans currently staying in Kuwait, who are believed to have been in contact with the confirmed patient, have been tested for Mers at a local medical facility, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said. Their results are scheduled to be released on Wednesday (Sept 12).

Symptons of Mers include fever, cough, shortness of breath and diarrhea.</s>SEOUL, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- South Korean health authorities are struggling to track foreign passengers who were on the same plane with a sick traveler who was diagnosed with MERS, as the government seeks to contain the spread of the infectious respiratory disease.

A 61-year-old man was diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Saturday after he returned from his business trip to Kuwait. The patient traveled with a colleague on Emirates flights from Kuwait via Dubai to Incheon.

Health authorities said they were unable to reach some 50 foreign passengers among a total 115 on the same plane with the MERS patient, according to Yonhap.

A 24-year-old British woman on the flight showed symptoms of MERS but has tested negative and was released from the hospital.

Health authorities have traced those who came into contact with the sick traveler, including his South Korean co-workers in Kuwait.

As of Monday, South Korean authorities had confirmed 21 people who came into close contact with the patient and 417 who were in the same places.

The MERS patient stayed in Kuwait from Aug. 16 to Sept. 6 and experienced stomach ache and diarrhea, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MERS, also known as a camel flu, is an infectious respiratory disease that originated in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has potential to cause large outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization. Patients experience fever, cough and shortness of breath.

Travelers from the Middle East are requested to report any symptoms of MERS when entering South Korea.

In 2015, South Korea saw 38 people die in a MERS outbreak. A total of 116 MERS patients have been reported this year, including 114 in Saudi Arabia, one in the United Arab Emirates and one in Oman.</s>SEOUL: South Korean health authorities are still trying to track down about 50 foreigners who could have come in contact with a recently confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) patient - the country's first case in three years.

The individuals include those who were on the same flight as the 61-year-old male patient, who arrived on an Emirates flight in Incheon Airport from Dubai on Friday (Sep 7), local reports said.

A Korea Herald report on Tuesday cited the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) as saying that it was difficult to track the individuals down, as foreign travellers in Korea usually do not have local phone numbers.

The authorities are also looking at public surveillance camera footage, as well as local accommodations, in the hopes of locating the travellers, the report said.

The update comes two days after the KCDC upgraded its National Infectious Disease alert level from “blue” to “yellow”.

A “blue” alert level refers to no immediate threat of importing MERS cases to South Korea, while a “yellow” alert means domestic importation of the disease from abroad has occurred.

The Korean patient was diagnosed with MERS on Saturday after returning home from Kuwait the day before.

He took two flights on his return trip - Emirates EK860 from Kuwait to Dubai, and EK322 from Dubai to Seoul. The second flight he was on had about 440 passengers, the Korea Herald said.

The report also cited Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon as suggesting that the patient may have been aware of his MERS infection during his stay in Kuwait, as he had asked his wife to wear a mask before meeting him at the airport.

The patient also chose to immediately take a taxi by himself to a hospital in Seoul upon his arrival at Incheon.

In a statement, the KCDC said it is working closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to track the contacts of the patient.

KCDC head Chung Eun-gyeong said that the authorities have traced and quarantined about 20 people who came in “close contact” with the man. They include medical staff, flight attendants and passengers of the plane.

“The names and information of other contacts, including the 440 individuals on the same flight as the patient, have been provided to local government agencies, and passive surveillance is being conducted,” the KCDC added.

In an update on Sep 11, Yonhap News Agency confirmed that five out of six people who had shown symptoms of MERS have tested negative for the disease. The sixth person is awaiting the results of a second test.

Nineteen South Koreans currently staying in Kuwait have also been tested for MERS and their results are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, Yonhap added. These individuals are believed to have been in contact with the confirmed patient.

The KCDC has advised individuals visiting the Middle East to wash their hands frequently and maintain proper personal hygiene. They are also advised against visiting local farms, coming into contact with camels or consuming camel products.

These individuals should also avoid visiting local hospitals and medical facilities unless absolutely necessary.</s>SEOUL, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- South Korea has confirmed the first Middle East Respiratory Syndrome case in three years and quarantined 22 people who came into close-distance contact with a patient.

A 61-year-old man was diagnosed with MERS on Saturday after he returned from his business trip to Kuwait. A total of 22 people are ordered to self-quarantine or check into facilities in cases where self-quarantine is not possible, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2015, South Korea saw 38 people die in a massive MERS outbreak. More than 16,000 people were quarantined or isolated for care or treatment.

MERS, known as a camel flu, is an infectious respiratory disease started in Saudi Arabia in 2012 with a potential to cause large outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization. The patients have symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. Travelers from the Middle East are requested to report any symptoms of MERS when entering South Korea.

The quarantined individuals include flight attendants, passengers sitting in a close range, a taxi driver and an assistant who helped the patient on a wheelchair. They were categorized as "close contacts," defined as having contacted the patient within approximately six feet (two meters).

A 24-year-old British woman, who was on the same plane with the patient, showed symptoms of the MERS but has been tested negative in a preliminary test on Monday.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said 10 of the close contacts live in Seoul and a total of 172 residents moderately contacted the patient so far. They have been under a close monitor by state health authorities, it said.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the patient's South Korean colleagues in Kuwait have been tested for MERS. One of them showed symptoms of MERS but found negative on Monday.
South Korean health authorities announce that they are searching for around 50 foreign nationals who may have been in contact with the recently confirmed MERS patient, including those who arrived in Incheon Airport from Dubai on the same flight last Friday.