President Park Geun-hye called on government agencies Monday to mobilize all resources available to contain the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus, noting that the government bungled its initial response to its outbreak.

She also stressed the need to enhance preventive measures against infectious diseases at a time when new infectious diseases can spread across borders.

"I hope that a joint task force composed of government and civilian experts will mobilize all health resources to prevent any further spread of the disease," Park said in a regular meeting with her top aides at the presidential office.

Her comments came as the total number of MERS infections reached 18 in South Korea since the first case was reported on May 20.

Last week, a South Korean man was diagnosed with MERS in China.

He went to China despite his doctor's advice against traveling.

MERS is a viral respiratory illness that is fairly new to humans. There had been only 1,142 reported cases in 23 countries since the first case was confirmed in Saudi Arabia in 2012, with all cases linked to countries in and near the Middle East so far.

There currently is no vaccine or treatment for the disease that has a very high fatality rate of over 40 percent.

The World Health Organization said people should avoid close contact with animals, particularly camels, when visiting farms, markets, or barn areas where the virus is known to be potentially circulating.

"Food hygiene practices should be observed. People should avoid drinking raw camel milk or camel urine, or eating meat that has not been properly cooked," the U.N. health agency said on its website.

Park also called on the government to correct any misleading rumors regarding the disease. (Yonhap)