S. Korea taking flu precautions at Kaesong park

SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will take precautions against type-A
influenza at a joint industrial park in North Korea, officials here said Friday,
one day after the South reported its third flu-related death.
Seoul's Unification Ministry said it was working closely with the park's managing
committee and companies operating at the complex, located in the border town of
Kaesong, to prevent an outbreak.
On Thursday, South Korea reported its third type-A influenza death, less than two
weeks after the first two occurred. The number of people in South Korea diagnosed
with the H1N1 virus topped 3,300 earlier this week. The first case was reported
in May.
"While there haven't been any reports from North Korea regarding the flu, we plan
to notify the North Korean officials in the park on the potential dangers and
seek cooperation regarding preventive measures," ministry spokesperson Chun
Hae-sung said at a press briefing.
The ministry plans to set up additional heat detection cameras at the
inter-Korean Transit Office at Dorasan Station and conduct mandatory body
temperature checks for South Korean workers who regularly travel across the
border. Like other flu strains, high fever is a key symptom of the H1N1 virus.
Seoul will also push for on-the-spot treatments for workers who catch the virus
in the park through a medical facility run jointly by doctors from the two
Koreas, Chun said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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