Two new cases in South Korea since the start of July, bringing the total to 184 cases. These cases were confirmed by the Korean government after a brief hiatus of 3 days where no new cases were reported. Both are young nurses at Samsung Medical Centre (Seoul). There are now 33 deaths (case fatality rate of 17.9%), […]
There were 6 new patients with MERS-CoV infection over the past 3 days of reporting (23rd to 25th June 2015) in South Korea, bringing the total to 181. Deaths now stand at 31 (case fatality rate of 17.1%). One more healthcare institution is now involved – Good Gang-An Hospital in Busan – with a patient who […]
Dr. Kathryn Holt from the University of Melbourne published a very important paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences yesterday, using whole genome sequencing to study the population structure as well as virulence and antimicrobial resistance factors of Klebsiella pneumoniae. A total of 288 isolates from 6 countries (Australia, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, U.S.A. […]
Six new cases between 21st and 22nd June 2015, with a total of 175 in South Korea. There are now 27 deaths (case fatality rate of 15.4%). According to the South Korean health ministry, “only” 2,805 individuals were still being monitored as of 22nd June, representing approximately a 26.8% drop from the day before. The outbreak […]
What has been remarkable so far is the rapid availability of information and data on the MERS-CoV outbreak in South Korea. Anyone with the slightest inclination can – in the comfort of home or office – generate epidemic curves or other informative graphics (and indeed many have done so – my Twitter account is full of […]
MERS-CoV cases in South Korea now stand at 162, with 20 deaths (12.3%). There were 4 and 8 cases confirmed on Monday and Tuesday respectively. Yahoo! News reported that a few of the new patients had not been under quarantine, despite being known contacts of cases. Two-thirds of the infected patients are male, and the […]
Currently attending the 1st Borneo Tropical Diseases Congress, held at the Tanjung Aru Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. This 2-day event is organised by the Infectious Diseases Society Kota Kinabalu Sabah, which is currently led by Dr. Timothy William – an infectious diseases physician who has published extensively on malaria and other tropical diseases […]
The case count had risen to 150, with 16 deaths (10.7%, although most of the infected cases are unlikely to have recovered) as of 14th June 2015. The majority of schools in South Korea that had been closed as a precautionary measure have re-opened yesterday. Samsung Medical Centre, from which close to 50% of all […]
The case count in South Korea continues to increase, with 138 cases and 14 deaths to date. There is at least one other hospital with cases reported (Good Morning Hospital in Pyeongtaek), but no community transmission to date. The only non-hospital-acquired cases are close family contacts of cases, as well as a newly-reported transmission in […]
An enduring source of frustration, wonder (and resignation) for those who deal with infectious diseases outbreaks is the vast difference in scale of response to “fast-moving” and “slow-moving” outbreaks. In “fast-moving” (think SARS, MERS, Ebola, novel influenza, etc.) outbreaks, the public perception of risk is far greater than the actual risk of the disease, and […]
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