South Korea has declared an end to the country's first Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in three years. <br />The announcement was made in line with guidelines set by the World Health Organization. <br />Yoon Jung-min reports. <br />The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the official declaration as the clock struck midnight.<br />According to the KCDC,... the announcement was in line with guidelines set by the WHO,... which requires that no new infections be reported for a minimum of 28 days,... which is twice the length of the virus' incubation period.<br />This comes as one person was diagnosed with MERS in September after returning from a three-week business trip to Kuwait,... becoming the first confirmed case of MERS in the nation since 2015,... an outbreak which resulted in 38 deaths.<br />On September 21st,... the KCDC lowered its alert level to its lowest readiness posture,... as 21 people who came into close contact with the initial patient all tested negative.<br />MERS is a viral respiratory disease with a fatality rate of 20 to 46-percent,... and is caused by a novel coronavirus carried by camels. <br />It can spread when someone is in close contact with a patient for a sustained period.<br />Experts say in order to prevent MERS spreading,... it's important to wash your hands thoroughly.<br /><br />"Because colds and MERS can be spread through hand shaking or rubbing your eyes or nose, you can prevent the spread of the virus by washing your hands often."<br /><br />The first MERS case was recorded in Saudi Arabia,... and it has since spread to numerous other countries. <br />As of June this year,... the WHO has reported over two-thousand confirmed cases of the virus.<br />Yoon Jung-min , Arirang News. <br />
