Twenty-nine Dead
The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has reached a fatality rate of 16.1 percent in Korea.
The Ministry of Health & Welfare announced on June 25 that the number of the Korean patients who died of MERS-CoV has increased by two to 29. The total number of patients in Korea was 180 at the time of the announcement. As of June 18, the global fatality rate announced by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control was 38.4 percent.
The fatality rate in Korea has continued to rise since the middle of this month, as the number of those who lost their lives has continued to increase, while the pace of the increase in the number of those diagnosed with the disease has been slowing down.
Twenty-seven out of the 29 patients had underlying diseases or were senior citizens. The other two had no underlying diseases at all. Ten of the deceased were in their sixties, while nine were in their seventies and five were in their eighties. Four and one were aged between 50 and 59 and between 40 and 49, respectively.
The fatality rate may further increase because not a few of the remaining patients are in critical condition. According to the health authorities, 15 out of the 77 patients currently under medical treatment are showing instability, which means they are relying on extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation or respirators.