All except two of the 166 confirmed patients of Middle East respiratory syndrome in Korea have contracted the virus from hospitals, statistics by the Health and Welfare Ministry showed Friday.

The two include the first confirmed patient, who is known to have caught the virus during his trip to the Middle East. Another is the 119th patient, whose infection route remains unclear.

The patient, currently receiving treatment, had shown fluctuating results in the MERS test before being finally being confirmed. Further investigation on the patient, however, is being held off due to his condition, the authorities said.

The patient was reportedly working as a police officer in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, one of the affected areas, but no direct contact link with other confirmed patients has been found.

Of the 166, 77 had been suffering from other illnesses, while 59 were their family members or visitors.

Among 30 medical professionals and staff members confirmed to have MERS, five were doctors, 11 nurses, seven caretakers and seven others including a radiographer and an ambulance worker.

By hospital, 82 came from Samsung Medical Center, taking up 49 percent of the total, including the latest confirmed patient as of Friday morning. Following was Pyeongtaek St. Mary Hospital with 36. No additional infection was reported at this hospital since June 7.

Other hospitals include Daecheong Hospital (13) and Konyang University Hospital (11) in Daejeon and Hallym University Medical Center (6) in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)