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| Credit WHO |
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There are new suggestions overnight - from the Mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon - that their recently imported MERS case may have known (or at least suspected) he was infected before deciding to return from Kuwait.
A couple of English language reports. First from Yonhap news.
Questions arise whether MERS patient knew about infection before arrival from Middle EastAnd this from the Korean Herald.
2018/09/10 16:25 Article View Option
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SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's first patient of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in three years told his wife before his arrival from the Middle East last week to wear a mask when she came to the airport to meet him, officials said Monday.
After arrival, the 61-year-old patient went to a hospital in a taxi while his wife traveled separately in her own car, officials said, suggesting that the patient knew the possibility of his infection with the MERS virus but didn't tell health authorities about it.
(Continue . . . )
[Newsmaker] Seoul mayor calls for additional investigation of MERS case
By Claire Lee
Published : Sept 10, 2018 - 19:04
Updated : Sept 10, 2018 - 19:07
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Monday called for additional and thorough epidemiological investigation into South Korea’s first case in three years of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, confirmed Saturday.
Park said it was possible that the patient may have been aware of his condition before diagnosis and may have withheld information from authorities.
(Continue . . . )
The mayor also suggested the patient may have been less than truthful about how many times he used the toilet facilities aboard the plane during the 10 hour flight, how many times he sought medical aid in Kuwait, and how sick he was prior to returning to South Korea.
So far, the good news is none of the close contacts of this Korean MERS case have tested positive for the virus. At last report, 21 people remain in quarantine, and several hundred more are being asked to home isolate.
Regardless of the facts of this latest case, long time readers will recall that during the opening days of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, we saw some travelers so desperate to get home, they stooped to taking fever reducing drugs in order to defeat airport thermal scanners.More than 10,000 blog entries ago, I wrote:
(Continue . . . . )Vietnam Discovers Passengers Beating Thermal Scanners
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The desire to get home when you are sick, or even when you fear you might be starting to fall ill, can be enormous.
Home is familiar.
Home is where your family, your friends, and your doctor are close at hand. Home is where people speak the same language, and have the same customs.And so it was probably naïve not to expect that some people during a pandemic wouldn’t try every trick in the book to get home. Even if they suspected they might be infected.
If you are going to be sick, the last place you want it to be is in another city . . .or worse, another country.
For some, there is the extra complication that their medical insurance may not be valid outside of their own country as well.
One would hope that anyone with flu-like symptoms (or worse) would delay taking a crowded flight where they could easily spread whatever they have to others, but the three planes arriving in NYC and Philadelphia last week with sick passengers and crew clearly shows that clearly isn't the case.
While it may be stating the obvious, in the wake of last week's events, last Friday the CDC urged passengers not to travel if they are sick.
CDC guidance to travelers as influenza season nears
Media Statement
For Immediate Release: Friday, September 7, 2018
Contact: Media Relations,
(404) 639-3286
Reports in the news media of airline passengers with influenza are a reminder that the influenza season in the United States is fast approaching, and people who are sick should protect themselves—and others—by not traveling.
CDC recommends everyone six months and older get a seasonal flu vaccine, preferably by the end of October. Most people with the flu have mild illness and don’t need medical care or antiviral drugs. If you get sick with flu symptoms – fever, cough, sore throat, runny/stuff nose, body aches, headaches, chills, fatigue, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting – stay home, don’t travel, and avoid contact with other people except to get medical care.
However, if you have symptoms of flu and are in a high-risk group (such as children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, pregnant women, residents of nursing home or long-term care facilities, American Indians and Alaska Native, and people who have certain medical conditions), or are very sick or worried about your illness, contact your health care provider (doctor, physician assistant, nurse).
When you talk to your health care provider about upcoming travel, ask about routine vaccines that are right for you. In addition to getting any recommended travel vaccines, make sure you and your family are up to date on all routine vaccines, such as MMR vaccine, before you travel.
For more information on seasonal influenza, visit www.cdc.gov/flu
Despite this sage advice - schedules, traveling costs, and human nature being what they are - its a pretty good bet that a lot of people won't be canceling their flight unless they are physically too sick to board the plane.
All reasons why infectious diseases spread so quickly in today's highly mobile and globally interconnected society, and why we must be ready to deal with them when they arrive.
