China's first MERS patient in stable condition

GUANGZHOU -- China's first confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is stable, while authorities in southern Guangdong Province are still looking for ten people who had close contact with the patient.

A man from the Republic of Korea (ROK) tested positive for MERS in Guangdong on Friday. He is in a Huizhou City hospital and is still feverish, the provincial health and family planning commission said Monday.

On Sunday, the commission increased the number of people who had been in close contact with the patient to 77. Among them, 67 have been quarantined while ten bus passengers are yet to be found as of Monday.

None of those in quarantine are showing any symptoms.

The man, 44, had visited a MERS patient at a ROK hospital and expressed discomfort as early as May 21.

Despite a doctor recommending that he cancel his travel plans, he flew from the ROK to Hong Kong on May 26 and entered Huizhou City via Shenzhen.

MERS is a respiratory illness caused by a new type of corona virus. It was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease, which has a fatality rate of about 40 percent.