17 percent of MERS patients medical staff: gov’t

So far, 17 percent of the Middle East respiratory syndrome patients in Korea have been found to be medical staff at the MERS-hit hospitals, the government said Monday.

As of Monday morning, five additional cases were confirmed along with two more deaths, bringing the total cases to 150 with 16 deaths.

Of the total patients, about half were exposed to the virus as patients receiving other treatments in the medical facilities. The remaining were family members of the patients, the Health and Welfare Ministry said.

Among the medical staff, nine were nurses, followed by seven caregivers and four doctors. Six emergency workers also caught the virus, it added.

By gender, men accounted for 61 percent of the total infected.

By age, those in their 50s took up 21 percent, followed by those in their 60s and 40s with 19 percent each.

Of the death toll, those in their 70s accounted for the most with 44 percent, followed by those in their 60s with 31 percent.

Nearly 90 percent of the dead had chronic respiratory diseases or cardio-cerebrovascular problems, officials said.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)

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