Via Mike Coston at Avian Flu Diary: Korean CDC Epidemiological Update On Unidentified Respiratory Outbreak. Excerpt:
Although we still don’t know the cause of the Konkuk University pneumonia outbreak, the Korean CDC has released an impressively detailed epidemiology report on the event today. Over the past couple of weeks, 41 students and/or faculty members have been diagnosed with what has been described as a `mild pneumonia’ and placed in isolation.
All appear to have had direct exposure to the Konkuk University Animal Life Sciences building, and thus far none of their close contacts have come down with the illness. Numerous tests have been run, but so far no viral, bacterial, or fungal cause has been determined.
The lack of transmission to contacts is a hopeful sign, and may indicate an `environmental’ exposure directly connected to the building. Some press reports suggest lung biopsies are being tested for signs of mold or fungal infection. So far, we’ve not seen any results.
The Korean CDC is cautiously hopeful that further spread will be limited.
It is still early days, but the good news is the Korean CDC isn’t repeating the mistakes of the opening weeks of their MERS outbreak, and is updating us regularly on their progress.
