South Korea MERS Outbreak Death Toll Update: WHO Confirms Confinement of Virus Within Hospitals

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Cases of MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, in South Korea are continuously rising along with the death rate.

According to CNN, the Ministry of Health in South Korea recently reported another death due to the MERS virus. The recently deceased victim of MERS was a 61-years-old man who was being treated and confined in a Busan hospital.

The Ministry of Health has sent a special task force to Busan, South Korea's second largest city. The task force was sent after the Ministry received news of a recently diagnosed MERS patient visiting several hospitals and clinics in the area.

CNN adds that there are now 150 total cases of MERS in the Asian country with a total of 16 deaths attributed to the virus.

The virus has been spreading in South Korea for over a month now. The Korean authorities along with the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, are being scrutinized by the public for their inability to reduce the spread of MERS within the country.

Due to the rising MERS death toll in South Korea, the World Health Organization has called an emergency meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, June 16, reports Mashable.

Both South Korean officials and WHO representatives have stated that the virus is currently contained within certain health facilities in the country. However, it seems that with the rising death toll, the international health organization is taking a more active role in containing and treating MERS within South Korea.

On June 14, the health organization posted a tweet on its Twitter account, which recommended several important steps that could stop the spread of MERS in South Korea.

The steps are:

• Early and complete identification of all contacts
• Quarantine or isolation and monitoring of all contacts and suspected cases
• Full implementation of infection, prevention and control measures
• Prevention of travel, especially internationally, of infected persons and contacts.

In a later tweet posted the same day, WHO said, "WHO Director-General is convening the 9^th Meeting of the Emergency Commitee on #MERS-CoV under International Regulations, on 16 June."

While, the health organization has confirmed that the virus is being contained withing South Korean hospitals, the BBC reports that a possible MERS case was seen in Slovakia.

According to the BBC, a South Korean man in Slovakia exhibited some symptoms similar to those who have been infected with MERS, like skin lesions and diarrhea.

Mashable explains that the man might have been exposed to the virus at a Kia plant based in Zilina, Slovakia. The 38-year-old man was working as a subcontractor when he was sent to the Kia plant.

As of late, the man has tested negative for the virus, but is still in quarantine for further testing.