China confirms first case of MERS

Source: en.nhfpc.gov.cn

Updated: 2015-05-29

The National Health and Family Planning Commission announced that South China's Guangdong Province had confirmed its first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on May 29.

A South Korean believed to be infected with the deadly virus came to China for a business trip on Tuesday. He has family members who are infected and had close contact with them in Korea.

The 44-year-old man expressed discomfort as early as May 21 and a reported fever of 38.7 degrees Celsius on Monday. He landed in Hong Kong on Tuesday and went to Huizhou city in Guangdong Province via Shenzhen.

Health authorities put the man in isolation under observation and notified the World Health Organization on Wednesday.

Of 38 known close contacts with man, no anomalies have been found so far.

MERS is a respiratory illness caused by a type of corona virus. The first case was identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease, with a fatality rate reaching 40.7 percent.