SKorea reports new Mers death

A seventh person has died in South Korea after contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), says the health ministry.

The patient was a 68-year-old woman with a pre-existing heart condition, who was infected at the same hospital as all the other victims so far.

Eight new cases were confirmed on Tuesday, a significant drop from the 23 new cases reported on Monday.

It is now the biggest outbreak outside the Middle East, with 95 infections.

Hong Kong said it would issue a red alert against non-essential travel to South Korea. A red alert means there is deemed to be a "significant threat" to those travelling to a country.

However, the South Korean government believes the fact that all cases have been linked to hospitals which treated known patients means the virus can still be contained.

All the fatalities have been people who were already unwell.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers)

The first fatality from Mers was recorded in June 2012 in Saudi Arabia. Photo: BBC

-- How dangerous is Mers?

-- Mers is caused by a new type of coronavirus, a type of virus which includes the common cold and Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

-- First cases emerged in the Middle East in 2012, and the first death in Saudi Arabia in June that year.

-- Patients have a fever, cough and breathing difficulties, but Mers can also cause pneumonia and kidney failure.

-- Approximately 36% of reported patients with Mers have died - there is no vaccine or specific treatment.

As of Monday, 2,500 people who may have come into contact with the virus were under quarantine, said the Yonhap news agency, and nearly 1,900 schools have been closed.

The first Mers case in South Korea was a man who became infected during a business trip to Saudi Arabia, where the disease was first identified three years ago.

Medical authorities have been criticised for the way they have handled the outbreak.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon accused central government of not providing enough information to citizens about the virus. But Health Minister Moon Hyung-pyo rejected the claim, saying such comments risked increasing public concern.