Measuring body temperature at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Health Ministry is keeping a close watch on thedevelopments of the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related corona virus(MERS-CoV) and giving recommendations on preventive measures to the public,following the information that the Republic of Korea recently reported thefirst case in 2018.
MERS is a viral respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus that was first identified in humans in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and hasspread to 25 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Republic ofKorea, Tunisia and the UK.
It causes severe acute respiratory illness, including fever,cough and shortness of breath.
Approximately 36 percent of reported patients with MERS havedied. There is currently no vaccine available to protect people from MERS.
The Health Ministry advised people who want to go abroad tolearn about the disease situation in the destination to actively havepreventive measures, keep a close watch on their health by themselves within 14days after returning, and immediately inform health clinics if they catchfever.
They were recommended to keep personal hygiene, wash handswith soap, clean homes regularly and go to the nearest health clinics if acute respiratoryinfection symptoms occur.
The MERS outbreak hit the Republic of Korea in 2015,infecting 186 people, killing over 30 of them, and placing more than 170,000others under quarantine.
The RoK remains the country with the most MERS-infectedcases outside the Middle East.-VNA
VNA
