MERS-hit top hospital partially closed

Samsung Medical Center in Seoul was partially shut down Sunday as more cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome were confirmed in the hospital. Meanwhile, the death toll across the country reached 15 and the number of those infected 145.

Hospital officials said they would stop receiving outpatients, suspend operations and restrict the visitors of hospitalized patients until June 24 as part of its efforts to contain the virus.

As of Sunday afternoon, 19 new cases were reported, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry. Of them, 11 occurred at Samsung Medical Center, putting the total number of MERS patients from the hospital at 72.

The hospital’s move to temporarily close came after the authorities confirmed that an emergency worker who transferred patients to the hospital was infected with MERS. The 55-year-old was suspected of having been infected by the 14th patient, who is considered the “super spreader” for spreading the virus to more than 70 people. 

Health authorities also found that the ambulance worker came into contact with over 400 people in nine days, despite having some symptoms, and immediately isolated 160 people who came in close contact with him. Others are being tracked, the officials said. They said the worker was also found to have worn a mask only and did not wear protective gloves while transferring the patients.

Although he had come into contact with the 14th patient, he was not put on the monitoring list, the authorities added, saying that the watch list was limited to those working inside the emergency room.

Meanwhile, another doctor at Samsung Medical Center was confirmed infected, after being exposed to the 14th patient late last month. He became the second medical professional of the hospital to be infected with the virus after the 35th patient.

Despite the exposure to the “super spreader,” the new infected doctor was not isolated and continued his work at the hospital, the ministry said.

The doctor has been isolated since Wednesday, when he showed a fever. The ministry is attempting to track those who were exposed by the doctor.

As MERS fear continued to persist, President Park Geun-hye visited Seoul National Hospital University on Sunday in a bid to pacify the public concerns. Park had originally planned to leave for the U.S. on Sunday for a summit with President Barack Obama, but postponed it due to the MERS crisis.

“The medical staff gives hope to patients. There must be lots of challenges, but please put in the utmost efforts for the public,” Park told the doctors. “As you all dedicate your efforts, the number of fully recovered patients is also rising, which I believe is good evidence that (the country) can overcome the disease.”

Five patients are currently receiving treatment at the hospital, with one cured, medical staff said.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization warned that Korea may have ready itself for a drawn-out battle against the disease spreading.

“Because the outbreak has been large and is complex, more cases can be expected,” said Keiji Fukuda, the WHO’s assistant director-general for heath security at a news conference Saturday.

A group of WHO officials conducted a five-day on-site review with Seoul officials over the MERS crisis starting June 9.

The agency pointed out that the lack of information flow and failure at first response contributed to the worsening of the disease outbreak.

“One of the things South Korea failed to do was a transparent and rapid distribution of information, which is the most important thing to do,” said Lee Jong-koo, who headed the Korean side of the joint team. “The failure to establish the governance in controlling the crisis in the early stages also caused public confusion.”

The Korean culture of “doctor shopping” and having patients and visitors at overcrowded emergency rooms also affected the rapid rise in the number of victims, the mission said.

It also added there was no indication of any mutation of the virus here.

No evidence was found to indicate there is an ongoing transmission in the community, officials added.

As part of the efforts to better treat the patients, the Korean health authorities have tried injecting the blood plasma of a soldier who fully recovered from MERS to two other patients.

Injecting blood plasma, which provides antibodies against the virus, is considered a traditional treatment to cure contagious diseases.

The two patients ― the Samsung doctor and a police officer ― however, have shown little improvement, officials said.

Despite being relatively young in age, in their 30s, both have been in critical condition as they may have experienced a “cytokine cascade” before receiving the blood plasma, they added. Cytokine cascade refers to the immune reaction of overly releasing cytokine proteins working against the virus in the body.

Of the confirmed patients, a total of 16 patients are currently in critical condition and more than 4,800 individuals are being monitored, the authorities said.

The first confirmed patient in Busan died Sunday afternoon after suffering from pneumonia and difficulty in breathing, the ministry said.

The 61-year-old female had been under quarantine treatment for eight days after she caught the virus at Samsung Medical Center. She did not have any chronic diseases, but had shown a low level of immunity, city officials said.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)