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MERS Virus Claims Another Victim in South Korea

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome first emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and is thought to have possibly been transmitted to people through the consumption of camel products — including urine.
Imagen por Yonhap/EPA

A sixth person died in South Korea of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Monday, a virus that has spread across more than 10 countries since first emerging in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

A total of 87 people in South Korea have been infected by MERS since last month in the largest outbreak outside the Middle East.

The virus, which has no vaccine, is thought to have been transmitted to humans by camels, prompting warnings from the Saudi government and the World Health Organization (WHO) that people should avoid eating camel products and drinking raw camel milk or urine. In some parts of the Middle East, drinking camel urine is believed to bring health benefits.

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However the exact role of camels in transmission of the virus and the exact route, or routes, of transmission are unknown, according to the WHO. Around 36 percent of reported patients with MERS have died.

About 1,870 schools in South Korea have closed and more than 2,000 people are quarantined at their homes or state-run facilities after having contact with patients infected with the virus. Dozens of camels were also put into quarantine across the country while they were tested, though none have tested positive.

Related: Boil Your Camel Milk If You Don't Want to Get MERS

An 80-year-old man, who tested positive for the virus last week while being treated for pneumonia, died on Monday and became the country's sixth death linked to MERS, according to a statement from South Korea's Health Ministry.

Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan told a news conference Sunday that there was no reason to believe that the virus would significantly spread further in the country.

"So far, all the MERS cases have been hospital-associated, and there has been no case of an infection in other social settings," he said. "We think we have a chance at putting the outbreak under total control."

Cases of MERS have been reported in every country in the Arabian Peninsula except Bahrain, reported the Wall Street Journal, primarily in Saudi Arabia.

More than 85 percent of global cases reported since 2012 have been in Saudi Arabia, according to the WHO. It's thought that cases outside the Middle East were acquired in the region and then exported.

The virus spreads through close contact with infected people and not through the air. Typical symptoms include fever, a cough, and a shortness of breath, with pneumonia also common. Sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms are also present.

Related: South Korea Is Still Talking Tough on North Korea — But Their Relations Might Actually Be Improving

The Associated Press contributed to this report.