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Source: http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=8990
S. Korea's Influenza A Death Toll Hits 33
The number of South Koreans who have died from Influenza A (H1N1) has risen to 33 with the death of a 42 year-old woman over the weekend who tested positive for the virus, according to Yonhap News on Oct. 28.
The latest confirmation raises the number of healthy people who have died from the infection to five since the first death was reported in the country in mid-August, Yonhap News quoted a senior official at the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs as having said.
The other 24 people were either elderly or suffered from chronic diseases that made them more vulnerable to the flu, which has killed thousands worldwide.
The ministry said that the deceased woman was admitted to a clinic late last week and was diagnosed as having pneumonia. She was immediately transferred to a larger hospital and given anti-viral drugs but died two days later on Sunday, before lab results testing for Influenza A came back.
"The woman did not have any chronic illness or records showing that she had traveled abroad, indicating that she was infected inside the country," a health official said.
The government, meanwhile, is scurrying to stem the spread of the disease by seeking to vaccinate 35 percent of the country's 49 million people.
The first round of vaccinations started on Oct. 27 for those highly vulnerable to the illness, including medical staff. Children, people suffering from health conditions and senior citizens are to receive shots over the next few months.
In the meantime, the Bank of Korea (BOK), the nation?s central banksaid that the gross domestic product (GDP) of the nation's education industry contracted 0.1 percent on-year in the July-September quarter, the first fall since the first quarter of 1999.
The H1N1 virus may have caused the negative growth, a BOK official said, as students refrained from being exposed to big gatherings.
Since the first local outbreak in May, Influenza A has forced local schools to close classes and delay student gatherings.
Analysts said a faster spread of the virus could weigh down the nation's rebounding economy by discouraging fledging economic activities.
"If the flu develops into a pandemic, it is forecast to drive down the country's GDP by 0.8 to 7.8 percentage points," Lim Hee-jung, an analyst at Hyundai Research Institute said.
The South Korea's GDP grew 0.6 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the first on-year expansion in four quarters.
S. Korea's Influenza A Death Toll Hits 33
The number of South Koreans who have died from Influenza A (H1N1) has risen to 33 with the death of a 42 year-old woman over the weekend who tested positive for the virus, according to Yonhap News on Oct. 28.
The latest confirmation raises the number of healthy people who have died from the infection to five since the first death was reported in the country in mid-August, Yonhap News quoted a senior official at the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs as having said.
The other 24 people were either elderly or suffered from chronic diseases that made them more vulnerable to the flu, which has killed thousands worldwide.
The ministry said that the deceased woman was admitted to a clinic late last week and was diagnosed as having pneumonia. She was immediately transferred to a larger hospital and given anti-viral drugs but died two days later on Sunday, before lab results testing for Influenza A came back.
"The woman did not have any chronic illness or records showing that she had traveled abroad, indicating that she was infected inside the country," a health official said.
The government, meanwhile, is scurrying to stem the spread of the disease by seeking to vaccinate 35 percent of the country's 49 million people.
The first round of vaccinations started on Oct. 27 for those highly vulnerable to the illness, including medical staff. Children, people suffering from health conditions and senior citizens are to receive shots over the next few months.
In the meantime, the Bank of Korea (BOK), the nation?s central banksaid that the gross domestic product (GDP) of the nation's education industry contracted 0.1 percent on-year in the July-September quarter, the first fall since the first quarter of 1999.
The H1N1 virus may have caused the negative growth, a BOK official said, as students refrained from being exposed to big gatherings.
Since the first local outbreak in May, Influenza A has forced local schools to close classes and delay student gatherings.
Analysts said a faster spread of the virus could weigh down the nation's rebounding economy by discouraging fledging economic activities.
"If the flu develops into a pandemic, it is forecast to drive down the country's GDP by 0.8 to 7.8 percentage points," Lim Hee-jung, an analyst at Hyundai Research Institute said.
The South Korea's GDP grew 0.6 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the first on-year expansion in four quarters.
