WHO to take part in mission following MERS outbreak in South Korea

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare will conduct a joint mission following a recent outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the country, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Friday.

"The WHO team will be led by assistant director-general for health security, Dr. (Keiji) Fukuda, and will comprise experts in various fields and who have handled such outbreaks in the Middle East," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing.

The team will consist of experts in epidemiology, virology, clinical management, infection prevention and control, as well as public health officers who have previously handled other MERS-CoV outbreaks in the Middle East.

The pressing objective of this joint mission is to gain information and review the situation in the Republic of Korea including the epidemiological pattern, the characteristic of the virus and clinical features. The team will also assess the public health response efforts and provide recommendations for response measures going forward.

Since the outbreak, WHO has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on response measures. WHO appreciates the South Korean government's cooperation in sharing up-to-date information and facilitating the joint mission.

"So far, a total of 36 cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome have been reported in the Republic of Korea," he said.

"Based on current data and the World Health Organization's risk assessment, there is no evidence to suggest sustained human-to- human transmission in communities and no evidence of airborne transmission," he said.

The number of South Koreans diagnosed with the MERS surged to 41 Friday since the patient zero was confirmed positive on May 20, reports from the South Korean capital, Seoul, said Friday.

The deadly viral illness, which has mostly been found in the Middle East, is a close cousin of the deadly SARS virus, which killed over 770 people worldwide following a 2003 outbreak.