“The Normalization of Daegu Medical Tourism – Establishment of MERS Countermeasures”

“The Normalization of Daegu Medical Tourism – Establishment of MERS Countermeasures”

The Daegu Medical Tourism Promotion Agency, alongside Daegu City, has come up with swift countermeasures against the decreasing medical tourists due to the recent breakout of MERS. We are trying our best to recover confidence in Medicity Daegu and to speed up the normalization of medical tourism.

There has been a great deal of setback in the group tour invited through collaboration with AinA which was a scale of 3,000 people from April through June. We have sent mail guaranteeing normalization on behalf of Mayor Kwon, Young Jin to 700 tourists who have cancelled their visit and to 11 overseas partners and offices in China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Canada who are working in cooperation with Daegu City.

Currently, the Korean Medical Tourism Industry has an overall depressed atmosphere but we, at the Promotion Agency, as well as Daegu City hope to turn the tide around through strengthened marketing projects.

We ask for encouragement and support from all our related institutions.

10 Thing You Should Know about MERS

Definition

MERS is an acute respiratory infection caused by a new strain of corona virus.

Symptoms

Other than general respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, there may be symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.

Infection

(2~14 days)

Symptoms occur between 2 to 14 days; and, the disease is known to be noncontagious before the appearance of symptoms.

Transmission

Generally, the disease is transmitted when a person comes into contact with bodily fluids released when a carrier of a disease coughs or sneezes within a radius of 2 meters.

Prevention

Wash your hands frequently. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Cover your mouth and nose with tissue when coughing. Avoid contact with others if you have a fever or cough.

Self-quarantine

(14 days)

If you have come into close contact with a patient, call the community health center and you must quarantine yourself for 14 days from the time you make first contact in order to avoid spreading the disease to family and others even if you don’t have symptoms.

Diagnosis

If you have come into close contact with a patient or have symptoms similar to that of MERS after having visited the Middle East within 14 days, have yourself examined by a physician.

Diagnosis

MERS is diagnosed through genetic testing (RT-PCR) of phlegm or bronchial tube cleansing solution.

Treatment

A patient receives treatment according to his/her symptoms. Critical patients receive intensive treatment such as being hooked up to a respirator or going through dialysis.

If there are no symptoms or fever for 48 hours and if genetic tests performed every 24 hours show up as negative twice in a row, then the patient may be released from the hospital.

Equipment

Medical staff must have equipment for washing hands, disposable gowns and gloves, N95 masks, protective eyewear.

Ministry of Health and Welfare

Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention