Five Koreans back from Abu Dhabi are being tested for MERS, Covid-19

A sign at Incheon International Airport warns of MERS in September 2018. [NEWS1]

Five Koreans who arrived at Incheon International Airport from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) showed respiratory distress and are receiving diagnostic tests for Covid-19 and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) under the supervision of quarantine authorities.

The five Korean passengers, two boys and three girls born between 2010 and 2014, aboard Etihad Airways flight number EY856, which arrived at Incheon at around 11:23 a.m. on Wednesday, exhibited respiratory symptoms. The quarantine authorities are investigating the five cases.

The five passengers were moved to the Incheon International Airport Quarantine Station and are undergoing diagnostic tests for Covid-19 and MERS, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) the same day.

According to the agency, the quarantine authorities have not yet reported a suspected case of MERS. The agency explained that the quarantine authorities can report a suspected case of MERS only after checking epidemiological relevance through medical investigation.

If the five cases end up being reported as suspected cases of MERS, the quarantine authorities will categorize the five individuals as “suspected patients” according to criteria.

“A person with a fever and respiratory symptoms who has visited the Middle East within 14 days before symptoms appeared, visited a medical facility in an endemic area, or came into contact with a camel in the Middle East is classified as a suspected MERS patient,” explained a spokesperson from the KDCA.

“In the case of arrivals from MERS epidemic areas, we are in the process of carrying out the usual quarantine procedures to conduct Covid-19 and MERS tests for those with a fever and respiratory symptoms,” added the spokesperson. “There is no specific reason to suspect MERS from the symptoms of the five passengers at this time.”

The results of the five passengers’ Covid-19 and MERS tests are expected to be released Thursday.

Of the 116 suspected domestic MERS cases reported between Jan. 1 to July 6 last year, 37 met the criteria to be categorized as suspected patients. All of their MERS tests came out negative.

Korea's last confirmed case of MERS was in a 61-year-old-man who went on a business trip to Kuwait in September 2018. There have been no confirmed cases in Korea since.

MERS is an infectious respiratory disease that first entered Korea in 2015, infecting 186 people and killing 38. From 2012 to June 10, 2022, mainly in the Arabian Peninsula and in the Middle East, the disease has infected 2,600 patients worldwide.

The KDCA has been taking preparative measures for another outbreak of MERS, such as requesting that visitors to the Middle East refrain from coming into contact with camels and by strengthening management of entrants into the region.

The KDCA requests that if a Korean national visits the Middle East and has a fever or respiratory symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath within 14 days of returning to Korea, they should contact 1339 and get tested for Covid-19 or MERS.

BY LEE JI-YOUNG, LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]