TOKYO (Sputnik) – Two more people have died from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea, bringing the overall death toll from the virus to 27, the country’s Ministry of Health and Welfare reports.
The total number of registered MERS cases now stands at 173, the ministry said.
MERS was first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and then spread to other countries. The viral respiratory disease is introduced from camels to people, with limited human-to-human transmission, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
About 3,800 people are still in quarantine amid the MERS outbreak in South Korea, which started in May and was caused in part by overcrowded emergency rooms and insufficient safety measures taken at the country's hospitals.
