South Korea confirmed Wednesday two more deaths related to Middle East respiratory syndrome, along with 13 additional cases of infection which brought the total number of cases to 108 and death toll to nine.

One of the deceased was a 62-year-old with a history of liver cancer and liver cirrhosis. The other was a 75-year-old woman who had been suffering from multiple myeloma. Both were being treated in the intensive care unit.

Of the 13 new cases, 10 were infected at the Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul, now one of two most severely hit medical facilities in the MERS outbreak. As of now, 29 hospitals have been affected by the disease.

MERS is thought to particularly affect those with pre-existing medical conditions. All MERS-related deaths in Korea to date have been over 55. 

Health Authorities also said a woman who was reported earlier as the nation’s first pregnant MERS patient has tested negative in a second test. She was retested, the results of which the authorities are yet to come out.

The Health Ministry reiterated that all infections had occurred within hospitals and that the virus had not spread to the general public. 

“Right now our priority is to prevent the number of infections from spiking, which can occur from MERS patients visiting hospitals,” the ministry said.
As of Wednesday morning, 3,439 people have been quarantined. 

(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)