Hong Kong issues travel warning over Mers virus

Hong Kong has issued a warning against non-essential travel to South Korea after seven people died from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) and 95 were infected by the virus.

Asia, and especially Hong Kong, is still haunted by the devastating impact of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak in 2003, which brought economic growth to a standstill, emptied the streets and led to 774 deaths.

So far South Korea is bearing the brunt of the outbreak of Mers.

Eight new infections in South Korea on Tuesday have brought the total number of cases to 95 in what is the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, following the diagnosis of the first patient on May 20th.

The latest fatality was a 68-year-old woman who was infected by a Mers patient at a hospital in Seoul.

The warning in Hong Kong said anyone who did still visit South Korea should “avoid unnecessary visit to healthcare facilities” and take precautionary measures, including wearing a mask and washing hands.

Hong Kong is quick to react to any similar types of outbreak. Mers shares some of the characteristics of Sars, as it is caused by a new type of coronavirus, a type that includes the common cold and Sars.

It has a fatality rate of 35 per cent, which makes it deadlier than Sars, but Mers is less infectious, and does not pass all that easily between people. Usually it can be passed on to those caring for people with Mers.

The indications are that it has not mutated so far, which is a positive sign.

Ko Wing-man, secretary for Hong Kong’s Food and Health Bureau, said the measures had been taken in part because of the “frequent communication between Hong Kong citizens and South Koreans”.

More than 2,800 people are quarantined, and thousands of schools have been closed in South Korea.

In China, which also had to deal with the fallout from Sars, schools have sent out notes to parents informing them about the disease and urging vigilance.

The South Korean government reckons that because all cases have been linked to hospitals that treated known patients, the virus can still be contained.

The outbreak has put pressure on South Korea's president Park Geun-hye, and many members of the country's National Assembly want her to postpone a scheduled US trip next week, and fear and resentment over the government's response to Mers is growing.

Ms Park plans to visit Washington and Houston on a six-day trip that includes a summit with US president Barack Obama.

“People may be concerned, but I hope that they will not overreact and will co-operate to ensure that economic activities will not be weakened,” she told a cabinet meeting.