| Measles took place at two hospitals, with 33 people confirmed to have the infectious disease. / Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
Measles is spreading, with at least 33 confirmed cases of the infectious disease, according to the health authorities, Monday.
The infections took place at two hospitals, one in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, and the other in Daejeon, and health officials are trying to stop the disease from spreading into local communities.
Twenty-five cases have been confirmed at Hallym University Medical Center in Anyang. Twenty-two of these are doctors, nurses and medical students at the hospital, while three are patients.
Fourteen have been placed under mandatory home quarantine as a precaution to stop the virus spreading, and one has been hospitalized. The remaining 10 have been released from quarantine, according to the provincial government.
The local government is keeping close tabs on 4,349 people who came into contact with the 25 patients. Officials also checked all 2,000 workers at the hospital and found 179 did not have measles antibodies. These workers were vaccinated and have been excluded from work for the time being.
In Daejeon, a seven-month-old girl caught measles, which spread to seven more children.
The infant was admitted to hospital at the end of last month with cold-like symptoms after being taken to Vietnam, where measles is also spreading. Doctors suspect she contracted the disease there.
Four more babies aged from nine months to three years old, who shared the hospital ward with the girl, caught measles. They have been isolated at home or in hospital.
Daejeon health authorities have been monitoring more than 170 people who had contact with the babies, including other patients, caregivers and medical staff.
It was believed that measles had been eradicated in Korea thanks to vaccinations, but there have been a growing number of cases recently, mostly involving people infected while overseas.
Measles is very infectious with a long incubation period. It has high chances of spreading because the initial symptoms are similar to those of a cold, making diagnosis difficult. The virus is transmitted through the air by coughing or sneezing.