Government postpones declaring official end to MERS outbreaks

Government postpones declaring official end to MERS outbreaks. October. 30, 2015 08:57. noel@donga.com.

The government has decided to postpone declaring "official end" to MERS outbreaks that was previously expected.

“When considering all different opinions from the World Health Organization, domestic and foreign experts, there is virtually zero possibility for Patient No. 80, who is currently the last person to be positive of MERS, to spread the virus to others,” the Health and Welfare Ministry said. “However, to be more cautious, the ministry has decided not to declare an official end to the MERS outbreaks today (Thursday).”

Patient No. 80 was declared to have been completely cured of MERS as he was tested negative twice at an interval of 24 hours in Polymerase Chain Reaction test for MERS on October 1. However, in a retest conducted on October 12, he was tested positive anew, and is being tested positive and negative alternatively even at present.

Originally, the ministry planned to declare an official end to MERS outbreaks on Thursday, when double the MERS incubation period (14 days) passed after Patient No. 80 was first declared to have been completely cured of the disease on October 1. On the postponement of the declaration, analysts say that the government has taken the measure because if it hurriedly declares an end to the outbreak, with one patient still positive of the virus, it could spark public criticism.

However, health authorities stressed, “The possibility of infection through Patient No. 80 has almost disappeared.” Patient No. 80 is being tested positive not because MERS virus is still alive, but because fragments of MERS virus DNAs were spun off in the process of cell reproduction in the respiratory tract, causing PCR measure to rise. “The WHO and infectious diseases experts worldwide judge that the possibility of MERS spreading from Patient No. 80 to others effectively ‘no longer exist medically,`" said Kim Yeong-taek, head of the infectious disease management division at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.