Thousands quarantined in South Korea’s deadly MERS outbreak

A major outbreak of a deadly kind of flu is underway in South Korea. Middle East respiratory syndrome has left seven people dead, and has put thousands in quarantine.

Listen to Alastair Wanklyn’s report:

Around 1,800 schools are closed, and in South Korean cities people are wearing face masks in the street. 
 
Middle East respiratory syndrome has erupted into a crisis in just three weeks. 

Doctors say it spread in hospitals, where people were crowded together. 
 
Now, 2,500 people are in quarantine, at home or in medical facilities.  

And the virus has affected old and young alike. One of the latest people to be infected is a teenager, the health ministry said. 
 
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has sent a team of experts to South Korea to examine the pattern of infections.

They will also examine the public health response, but at this stage they are commending South Korea for its efforts to isolate sufferers. 
 
"We again congratulate the government for making such strong efforts to deal with this situation, said Keiji Fukuda, WHO Assistant Director-General. 
 
South Korea is the worst-hit nation outside Saudi Arabia, but it is not alone. More than 1,000 cases have been confirmed in more than two dozen countries worldwide.