South Korean Mers outbreak ‘super-spreader’ patient linked to 82 cases, study finds

A single “super-spreader” patient in a busy hospital emergency department spread Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) to 82 people in just three days during a big outbreak of the virus in South Korea, scientists said.

Those infected included patients, visitors and health workers, and the situation was made worse by overcrowding, according to researchers whose findings were published in The Lancet medical journal on Friday.

The study shows the potential for outbreaks of Mers from a single spreader, the researchers said, and should serve as a warning that as long as the virus is circulating in the Middle East, governments and health care providers should be prepared.

Mers first emerged in humans in 2012 and has been spreading in Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries since then. It is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

The virus, in which patients develop acute respiratory illness with fever, coughing and breathing problems, has spread to 27 countries and killed up to 40 per cent of those infected.

“Emergency preparedness and vigilance in hospitals, laboratories and government agencies are crucial to the prevention of further large outbreaks not only of [Mers] infections, but also other emerging infectious diseases,” said Doo Ryeon-chung and Kim Yae-jean , professors in the infectious diseases department at Seoul’s Samsung Medical Centre.