1st teenager MERS infection reported in S. Korea

An elementary school student wearing a mask to prevent contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), receives a temperature check at an elementary school in Seoul, South Korea, June 8, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

SEOUL - The first case of a teenage student infection with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was reported in South Korea, the Education Ministry said on Monday.

The 16-year-old male high school student tested positive for the MERS Sunday, according to the ministry.

The teenager was hospitalized on May 27 at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul for an unidentified illness and underwent a surgery a day later.

The student showed the first symptom of the viral disease on June 1 before being diagnosed on Sunday.

A total of 34 infectees came from the Samsung Medical Center as of Monday. The total MERS infections in South Korea surged to 87 with 23 new cases on Monday.

The ministry said the student had been placed under quarantine at the hospital since May 27 and there was no possibility for the student to spread the disease to other students.

The number of closed schools, which decided to suspend classes to prevent the MERS spread, stood at 1,869 nationwide as of Monday. Those included 169 schools in Seoul and 1,362 schools in the Gyeonggi Province.

The Pyeongtake St. Mary's Hospital in the city, 60 km south of Seoul, is located within the province. The patient zero was hospitalized at the St. Mary's, where 37 patients contracted the deadly virus.