On June 9, 2015, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control convened a meeting attended by the Commanders of the Communicable Disease Control Medical Network and the MERS-CoV Response Team. The meeting decided to issue a travel notice of Level 2: Alert for MERS-CoV to entire South Korea and revise the MERS-CoV case definition in response to the evolving MERS outbreak. Travelers visiting South Korea is urged to avoid unnecessary hospital visits.

If you have visited a healthcare facility or hospital in South Korea and then developed influenza-like symptoms such as fever, cough or general discomfort within 14 days after returning home, please put on a mask immediately, call the toll-free hotline, 1922, be sure to follow the hotline operator’s instructions while seeking medical assistance. On the other hand, if you have visited a healthcare facility or hospital in South Korea but have not developed any symptoms, you are also advised to monitor your own health for 14 days by taking body temperature twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, seek immediate medical attention when experiencing symptoms, and inform the doctor of your recent travel, occupation, contact and cluster history.

Thus far, a cumulative total of 95 MERS-CoV cases, including 7 deaths, have been confirmed in South Korea. As of June 9, a cumulative total of 2,892 contacts have been identified and 607 of them have been removed from quarantine. However, tertiary infections have continued to occur and several cases have been confirmed in a number of hospitals. Although no community transmission of MERS-CoV has been reported in South Korea, the country has reported the second highest number of cases after Saudi Arabia. Travelers planning to visit South Korea are urged to take precautions. Taiwan CDC has decided to issue a travel notice of Level 2: Alert for MERS-CoV to entire South Korea, which is a higher level than recommended by the World Health Organization, the United States, Singapore and Japan, but a lower level than issued by Hong Kong, Macau and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to WHO, during September 2012 and June 8, 2015, a total of 1,219 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 449 related deaths, have been announced. Thus far, MERS-CoV has been reported in 25 countries. Among these countries, Saudi Arabia has reported the most cases. Currently, Taiwan CDC has issued a travel notice of Level 2: Alert for MERS-CoV to Saudi Arabia and South Korea, and a travel notice of Level 1: Watch for MERS-CoV to UAE, Jordan, Qatar, Iran, Oman and Bahrain. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).