(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Aug. 17)

Deaths from influenza
: It's urgent to prevent further spread of virus

Prevention is better than cure. But this is easier said than done at least as far
as the influenza A (H1N1) virus is concerned. On Sunday, South Korea reported its
second death from the pandemic flu that has been spreading across the world since
its outbreak in Mexico in April.
According to health authorities, a 63-year-old woman died from pulmonary edema
and multiple organ failure while receiving treatment for influenza A at a Seoul
hospital. Her death rang an alarm because she was presumed to have contracted the
highly contagious disease in South Korea last month. She had not left the country
for overseas travel in recent months.
Her case only proved that the virus could produce complications that lead to
death. Another problem is that it is difficult to trace her infection route,
making it harder for the authorities to take immediate and effective quarantine
measures. She was hospitalized on July 31 for pulmonary edema, an abnormal
buildup of fluid within the lungs. On Aug. 8, she was confirmed to have
contracted the flu virus.
Her death came one day after the nation's first death from the flu virus was
reported Saturday. The first victim was a 56-year-old man who returned from a
trip to Thailand on Aug. 5. Three days later, he was admitted to a local hospital
as he showed high fever and other symptoms of H1N1, and was diagnosed with the
flu virus. He was presumed to have died of pneumonia, a complication developed by
influenza A.
The two deaths show that the country is no longer safe from the highly contagious
disease which has become prevalent worldwide in a short period. We cannot
overestimate the dangers of the influenza, also known as swine flu. It is
necessary to step up preventive measures and to raise the level of alert in order
to block the further spread of the virus and avoid another death.
A total of 2,089 Koreans have so far been inflected with the H1N1 virus,
according to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention. About 400
people remain quarantined at home or in state-designated hospitals. The health
authorities might have not been on high alert because most patients showed mild
symptoms and recovered quickly. But now they must double their efforts to ensure
a tighter quarantine network and a better preventive system to keep out the
virus.
(END)