Anchor: A U.S. infectious disease expert believes the current outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea can be brought under control quickly. Health authorities in the U.S. also appear to be optimistic as they have issued their lowest health advisory to travelers, suggesting visitors to South Korea practice the usual precautions.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: Daniel Lucey, an Adjunct Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Georgetown University Medical Center, says the current outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, in South Korea can be stopped soon.
 
In an article contributed to the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Monday, the infectious disease expert described MERS as “only a distant relative of the virus that caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003.” He noted that MERS is much less contagious than SARS or influenza.
 
The professor noted that MERS can cause life-threatening pneumonia typically in persons with any of four pre-existing medical conditions, including lung disease, kidney disease, immunodeficiency, or diabetes.
 
He added, however, that in most persons without the four pre-existing conditions the MERS virus causes less severe or mild illness or even no symptoms at all.
 
Dr. Lucey also noted that the MERS outbreak in South Korea is mostly linked to hospitals and that the MERS conoravirus does not show any evidence of mutation.
 
He said the MERS outbreak in South Korea can be stopped via “a comprehensive rapid public health response, effective outbreak communication with the public, and transparency from both organizational leaders and individuals in quarantine.”
 
Lucey, who previously worked at the National Institutes of Health, is considered to be a leading figure in the area of immunology.
 
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shared Lucey’s analysis as it issued a travel “watch” for Americans planning to travel to South Korea.
 
Encouraging travelers to practice usual precautions, a travel “watch” is the lowest level of the agency’s three-tiered health notices.   
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.