Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

UN: Spread of MERS in South Korea Isn’t Global Emergency

By R&D Editors | June 17, 2015

Au unidentified student is checked her temperature as a precaution against MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) at Gwanghui Elementary School in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 17, 2015. The death toll in South Korea's MERS outbreak increased Tuesday even as schools reopened and people recovered from the virus. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)The World Health Organization said the spread of a mysterious virus from the Middle East to South Korea doesn’t merit being declared a global emergency despite infecting more than 160 people in the biggest outbreak outside the Arabian peninsula.

In a statement Wednesday, the U.N. health agency called the epidemic “a wake-up call” and warned all countries to prepare for potential outbreaks of the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS.

WHO acknowledged there were still fundamental gaps in its understanding of the disease nearly three years after MERS was first identified.

“We really don’t understand the situation very well,” said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, a WHO Assistant Director-General, noting it was unclear if the disease could be spread by people without symptoms or what environmental factors might speed transmission.

Fukuda said camels are the only known animal reservoir for the disease, although there could be others. He added there was no proof MERS had mutated into a more dangerous form in South Korea, where 19 people have died.

Overall worldwide, 458 people have died from MERS since 2012.

WHO recommends that people avoid contact with camels, not drink camel milk or urine and only eat camel meat that has been well-cooked.

MERS appear to be spread among people in respiratory droplets such as by coughing, although infections have mostly occurred in those who had close contact with MERS patients. More than two dozen countries have reported cases, including the U.S., Britain, France and Germany.

Some experts lamented that little had changed in WHO’s ability to respond to outbreaks since last year’s devastating Ebola outbreak in West Africa – which left more than 11,000 dead still hasn’t been contained.

“I don’t understand why they have not prioritized developing a camel vaccine to stop transmission from young camels to humans,” said Michael Osterholm, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Minnesota.

“If MERS shows up in the inner cities of one of the developing world megacities, like Lagos or Kinshasa, we will be in real trouble,” he said. “We know there will be future outbreaks if MERS isn’t stopped in the Middle East, but we are not very close to doing that now.”

Source: Associated Press

Related Articles Read More >

professional photo of wooly mammoth in nature --ar 2:1 --personalize sq85hce --v 6.1 Job ID: 47185eaa-b213-4624-8bee-44f9e882feaa
Why science ethicists are sounding skepticism and alarm on ‘de-extinction’
ALAFIA system speeds complex molecular simulations for University of Miami drug research
3d rendered illustration of the anatomy of a cancer cell
Funding flows to obesity, oncology and immunology: 2024 sales data show where science is paying off
Health-related innovation in Morocco highlighted by resident inventor patenting activity
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE