As of Thursday morning, four patients confirmed with Middle East respiratory syndrome have fully recovered, with their average age being 53.8.
The Health and Welfare Ministry said that the four, including the 63-year-old wife of the index patient, have been released from hospital.
The average age of the recovered patients was lower than the average of the confirmed patients at 71.8, showing that seniors with existing diseases are more vulnerable to the virus.
All four cases were secondary infections, and it took them an average of 18 days since the first signs of symptoms that include high fever, cough and difficulty in breathing.
Meanwhile, six out of the nine deceased patients were diagnosed after contacting with secondary patients.
Experts said the biggest factor among those who recovered was the state of their health prior to being diagnosed with MERS.
Most of the deceased were suffering from other illnesses and caught the virus while receiving treatment at hospitals. Only one of the four who recovered had been undergoing treatment for other problems.
The other two were medical staff, while another was a family member of an inpatient.
A doctor who was released had said in an interview with a local media, “Based on my experience, MERS can be treated with Korea’s high level of medical treatment capacity if (the patient) does not have any underlying disease.”
