South Korea recently announced a 13-billion-dollar-plus economic stimulus package to help combat the disease MERS.
What is MERS ?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), MERS – Middle East respiratory syndrome – is a viral respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause diseases from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Where can MERS be found?
The following 26 countries have reported cases of MERS: Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (Middle East); Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom (UK) (Europe); Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt (Africa); China, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, the Philippines and Thailand (Asia); and the United States of America (Americas).
The vast majority of these cases have so far occurred in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to WHO.
180 cases – including 29 deaths – have been reported in South Korea due to MERS, writes the International Business Times.
OK, Fine. 