MERS in South Korea

MERS, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, is a viral respiratory illness that is fairly new to humans, with only 1,142 reported cases in 23 countries since the first case was confirmed in Saudi Arabia in 2012. There currently is no vaccine or treatment for the disease, which has a very high fatality rate of 40.7 percent.

In South Korea a fourth case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has been reported to be confirmed. A daughter of the third patient was found to have been infected with MERS.

The newly infected patient is considered to have contracted the virus from the first patient, just as her father did. She was at a hospital room her 76-year-old father shared with the first patient.