Third pregnant woman dies of virus

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2936867



Another pregnant woman’s death on Thursday, presumed to be the third victim of the mystery virus, was belatedly reported. However, she wasn’t one of the seven pregnant women infected by the virus who were being treated at Asan Medical Center. One man was also being treated at Asan.

According to the Busan Metropolitan City Government, the 35-year-old pregnant woman, identified as “J,” was four months pregnant. She visited the hospital on Wednesday after suffering from a severe cold, but died Thursday, Busan city officials said.

J died on the same day as the second victim ? a 32-year-old pregnant woman ? in Seoul. Health authorities are tentatively calling the mystery virus “acute interstitial pneumonia.”

Hospital authorities said the cause of the third victim’s death is acute blood poisoning but said they were uncertain whether it is the same virus that took the lives of the two pregnant women. The Korea Centers for Disease and Prevention is working to determine if the death was caused by the mystery virus. An official from the KCDC said today that they will “visit the hospital in Busan to conduct a detailed analysis on the case.”

If the death of J is confirmed to be due to acute pneumonia, which can develop into pulmonary fibrosis, or scarring of the lungs, the KCDC will be under pressure to come up with measures to try and halt the virus’ spread. KCDC has said the infection is not limited to pregnant women.

Unlike other cases of pneumonia, this virus is unusual because it has infected healthy, young pregnant women and killed them in a very short period of time, according to health authorities. The first and second victims died only a month after hospitalization. Moreover, unlike regular pneumonia patients who usually show early symptoms such as fever, the two had sudden breathing difficulties.