S. Korea's MERS death toll stays flat with no new cases

SEJONG, July 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea reported no additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Thursday, with the death toll from the disease also remaining unchanged at 35. The number of people diagnosed with the viral disease has remained unchanged since Sunday at 186. Still, 689 people were in isolation as suspected cases as of Thursday, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The number dropped from 811 on the previous day. Out of the 186 people diagnosed so far, 31 remain hospitalized, while the remaining 120 have been discharged following complete recoveries. MERS is a viral respiratory disease that is still fairly new to humans. It has claimed some 530 lives throughout the world since it was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012, though over 80 percent of all cases and fatalities have been reported in the Middle Eastern country. No vaccine or treatment is currently available for the disease, which carries a fatality rate of about 36 percent globally. In South Korea, the fatality rate of the disease stands at 18.8 percent. bdk@yna.co.kr (END)