MERS cases in South Korea rise to 138

The South Korean health ministry on Saturday reported 12 new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), bringing the total to 138.

Meanwhile, a 67-year-old woman died, while receiving treatment at a hospital, bringing the number of MERS deaths to 14, the ministry said.

Among the 12 new cases, four people caught the virus from the a patient at Daecheong Hospital and Konyang University Hospital in the city of Daejeon, Xinhua news agency reported.

Two cases were infected from the another patient at the emergency room of the Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the 12 new patients included an ambulance driver, who transported two people diagnosed with the MERS virus last week, Yonhap News Agency reported.

After a weeklong on-site inspection, a World Health Organisation (WHO) team said that it would take several weeks to see a "perfect effect" from current government measures.

It cited the large scale of the endemic and complicated situations as factors.