South Korea reports five new MERS cases, one death

Korea's health ministry reported five new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Monday (Jun 15), taking the total to 150 in an outbreak that is the largest outside Saudi Arabia.

The ministry also said a patient infected with the MERS virus had died, the 16th fatality in an outbreak that began in May.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called an emergency meeting for Tuesday (Jun 16) on South Korea's "large and complex" outbreak of MERS.

On Sunday, a South Korean hospital suspended most of its services after being identified as the epicentre of the spread of the deadly respiratory disease.

The Samsung Medical Centre, a prominent hospital in the capital, said it was suspending all non-emergency surgery and would not take in new patients to focus on stopping MERS after more than 70 cases were traced to it.

Its tally has surpassed the number at a hospital in Pyeongtaek, where the first patient sought treatment.

Among the cases at the Samsung Medical Centre was an emergency ward orderly who worked for days after developing symptoms, coming into contact with more than 200 people, the hospital said.

The orderly is believed to have picked up the virus from an infected person who waited three days in different parts of the emergency ward, with nearly 900 staff, patients and visitors coming and going.

All of South Korea's cases are believed to be linked to hospitals or related services and have been traced back to the businessman who returned from the Middle East.