S. Korea reports 3 more MERS infections, 1 death

SEOUL - South Korea Sunday reported three more infections with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and one death, bringing the total contagion cases to 169 and the death toll to 25.

Three new cases included a doctor at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul and a radiographer at Konkuk University Medical Center in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Patient 169 was a Samsung hospital doctor who worked at the intensive care unit. The 34-year-old man was estimated to have been infected from patient 135, the hospital's security guard.

Patient 168 was a Konkuk hospital radiographer, who conducted an X-ray examination for the 76th patient at the hospital's emergency room.

Patient 167 contracted the virus while staying on June 5 with the 76th patient at the emergency room of the Gangdong Kyunghee University Hospital in Seoul.

The 112th patient passed away, sending the death toll to 25 and the fatality rate to 14.8 percent. The 63-year-old man had already suffered from diabetes and myocardial ischaemia.

Seven patients were discharged from hospitals as they completely recovered after having been infected. The total discharge number increased to 43.

Excluding the hospital discharge and the death, 101 patients are under treatment. Among them, 14 patients are in unstable conditions.

The number of those quarantined declined from 5,197 on Saturday to 4,035 on Sunday.