The conventional wisdom on MERS is that... if you're healthy, you will only suffer a mild illness if you contract the virus.<br />But things appear to be taking a turn.<br />Four MERS patients who didn't have any existing ailments have died, while two patients in their 30s are in critical condition.<br />Han Da-eun has more. <br />A 61-year-old man who contracted the MERS virus while visiting his sick cousin at Samsung Medical Center... and then passed away on June 14th from pneumonia.<br />A 72-year-old woman who was hospitalized at Pyeongtaek Saint Mary's Hospital... and died on the 12th due to lung failure.<br />Neither patient had a pre-existing illness.<br />Patients 98 and 123, who died overnight on Monday, were also free of any existing ailments.<br />These four cases are ringing alarm bells with medical experts,... as they go against the conventional wisdom about MERS that it is not a threat to people who are healthy.<br />The virus' incubation period of two to 14 days also seems to be breaking rules in Korea.<br />Patient 146 contracted the virus from Patient 14, known as a "super spreader," between May 27th and 29th,... but it was 16 to 18 days before he started showing symptoms of MERS.<br />And Patient 149 tested positive for the virus about 20 days after first coming into contact with someone with MERS.<br />As the virus is relatively new, not only to Korea but to the world,... Korean health officials are having a hard time trying to get a handle on cases like these.<br /><br /><br />"The incubation period is known to be from two to 14 days, but it can vary according to how you define the 'first contact' or 'initial symptoms.'"<br /><br />Currently, patients in their 50s represent the biggest proportion of MERS cases, followed by those in their 60s and those in their 40s. <br />But the number of patients in their 40s is on the rise. <br />On top of an increasing number of tertiary infections,... cases like these that challenge the conventional wisdom on MERS are making it harder for Korea's health authorities to get a full picture of the disease
