Professor Andrew Easton, PRofessor of Virology at the University of Warwick's School of Life Science has issued the following comment following an outbreak of MERS in South Korea:

The MERS outbreak in Korea began with a single traveller who contracted the infection in the Middle East. The majority of those subsequently infected were involved in the care of the first patient or were in close contact. Subsequent cases have all had close contact with each other.

It is important for all contacts to be traced and provided with appropriate advice about possible symptoms and how to seek medical assistance. MERS is similar to, but not the same as SARS that spread in 2002-03 and the hope is that proper precautions will lead to the halt of the spread of MERS as it did for SARS.

However, MERS cases continue to appear in the Middle East and it is important to deal with that situation as it remains the source of all MERS infections that have arisen in other parts of the world.

Professor Easton can be reached via: A.J.Easton@warwick.ac.uk