S. Korea reports no additional MERS cases for 32nd straight day

SEJONG, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- The number of people diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea remained unchanged at 186 on Thursday as the country reported no additional cases of the disease for the 32nd straight day. The death toll also remained unchanged for the past 25 days at 36. The number of patients still in hospitals, on the other hand, dropped by one from the previous day to 11 with the discharge of a 60-year-old female. So far, 139 of those diagnosed have been discharged from hospitals following complete recoveries. Out of the 11 patients still hospitalized, 10 have already tested negative for the potentially deadly disease, and are only recovering from other complications caused by MERS, said officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. In addition to those diagnosed, two other people were currently in isolation for possible infection, the ministry said. The two had shown possible symptoms of MERS after returning from their trips to unidentified Middle Eastern countries but have tested negative for the disease in their initial tests. MERS is a viral respiratory disease that is also known as camel flu and is often linked to countries in the Arabian Peninsula, including Saudi Arabia, where the disease was first identified in 2012. South Korea reported its first case of MERS on May 20. With no additional cases reported for nearly a month, the country declared a de facto end to the MERS outbreak here last Tuesday. bdk@yna.co.kr (END)