Eight additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) were reported by the Korea CDC (computer translated) and four additional cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (three cases) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (one case).

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus /National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID

According to the preliminary information of the health authority of Korea, they are:

* Three patients and a visitor who had stayed in the emergency room of Samsung Medical Center during the period from May 26 to 29;
* A patient who had contact with another confirmed case in Hallym University Medical Centre from May 27 to May 29;
* A health-care worker who had contact with another confirmed case in Kyunghee University Hospital on June 5;
* A patient who had contact with another confirmed case in Pyeongtaek Good Morning Hospital on May 27; and
* A health-care worker of Samsung Medical Center.

To date, 161 MERS cases have been confirmed by Korea. In addition, another case was exported from Korea to Mainland China.

Meanwhile, according to the WHO, the three cases in KSA involve two men and one woman aged 60 to 77 who have underlying illnesses. They had onset of symptoms between May 23 and June 2. One patient has a history of frequent contact with sheep as well as consuming their raw milk, while two other patients had visited hospitals with MERS outbreaks. The 77-year-old male patient passed away on June 11 and the other patients are currently hospitalised for treatment. In addition, two previously confirmed patients died.

The case in the UAE is a woman aged 65 with underlying illnesses. She developed symptoms on May 31 and was admitted to hospital on June 6. She is currently in a critical condition. She has no history of contact with known risk factors in the 14 days prior to onset of symptoms.

To date, in addition to the laboratory-confirmed MERS cases involved in the outbreak in Korea, 1 167 cases have been reported to the WHO, including at least 447 deaths. Of note, 1 142 cases globally were confirmed in nine Middle East countries, including 1 026 in the KSA, 74 in the United Arab Emirates, 13 in Qatar, 12 in Jordan, six each in Iran and Oman, three in Kuwait, and one each in Lebanon and Yemen.