A South Korean man was re-diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) after being found with a high fever nine days after he was cleared and discharged from the hospital, an official from the Health and Welfare Ministry revealed.
The 35-year-old was the last patient in South Korea to be diagnosed with the deadly disease during the outbreak that killed 36 people, reported PressTV. He first contracted the virus June 7 while suffering from lymphoma and was discharged earlier this month after testing negative for the infection.
The ministry confirmed that more than 100 people, including doctors and family members, who were in contact with the patient have been quarantined.
This latest development nixes Seoul's hopes of being declared free of the disease following the last reported case in July, according to Yahoo! News.
Asked why the patient now tested positive for the disease when he tested negative previously, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Yang Byung-guk said, "Two months prior to being discharged, the patient was detected to have a minuscule amount of the virus in his body, which has been inactive for some time and chances of infections were low."
Despite the troubling news, South Koreans in general aren't too worried about the newest case, reported Channel News Asia. The public has praised the government for how it handled the outbreak, believes the government has the situation is under control and doesn't believe the virus will spread further.
