World Bulletin / News Desk 

South Korea faced the continuing spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Thursday, around a week after the country reported its first case of the deadly disease.

Two more people were confirmed to have come down with the respiratory illness by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bringing the total number to seven - with more than 70 others placed in isolation as possible cases.

According to local news agency Yonhap, the Center also revealed that a 44-year-old South Korean man suspected of having MERS managed to board a plane for China on Tuesday, despite receiving advice not to travel.

A total of 28 passengers sitting near him on the flight are being considered as possible cases, while the man in question was undergoing tests. His father and sister are both among the seven South Korean MERS patients.

Chinese authorities apparently declined Seoul’s offer of medical support, while questions arose over how the man was able to travel even though he was under suspicion.

MERS is caused by a strain of coronavirus and has a fatality rate of more than 40 percent, having struck around 1,150 people worldwide after first emerging in Saudi Arabia as recently as 2012.