A total of 44 individuals are currently being treated or monitored for possible infection after an outbreak of pneumonia was reported last week at Konkuk University in Seoul, health authorities said.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 44 individuals, mostly graduate students at Konkuk University, have been showing symptoms of the condition after working at three laboratories at the College of Animal Bioscience and Technology building from Oct. 19. The exact cause of the outbreak is still unknown.

Among the 44 individuals, 41 currently have been officially diagnosed with pneumonia and are being treated in isolation at several separate medical facilities, the KCDC said.

The remaining three have not officially been diagnosed yet. They are currently staying at home while being monitored. Although the three patients are only showing mild symptoms, they are scheduled to take chest X-rays to check for pneumonia.

According to Konkuk University, some students who have been diagnosed with pneumonia visited an animal farm in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, for research on Oct. 14. They also attended a dairy cattle show in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, on the same day.

The KCDC said the 41 patients who had been officially diagnosed with pneumonia have been tested for a total of 16 respiratory viruses, including MERS, influenza and coronavirus.

Only four of the 41 patients have tested positive to a single disease, called respiratory syncytial virus, which causes mild symptoms that typically mimic the common cold. Everyone else has tested negative to all 16 viruses.

The KCDC said it was unlikely that the RSV had caused the outbreak, as the particular virus is currently common nationwide. It said it would continue with its ongoing epidemiologic investigation to identify the exact causes of the outbreak.

On Sunday, the Health Ministry said it will investigate to see if any chemical substances used in the research in the building contained harmful ingredients capable of causing pneumonia.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)