First H1N1 infection reported at joint park in North Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES with spokesman's quote, details)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean man working at a North Korean
industrial park has been confirmed to have the Influenza A virus, the first such
infection to be detected north of the border, the Unification Ministry said
Monday.
The worker, 32, who authorities would only identify by his family name Seo, was
urgently transferred to South Korea on Saturday morning on signs of high
temperature at the joint park in the North's border town of Kaesong, said
ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung. He tested positive for H1N1 infection late
night Saturday.
"He was brought here because there's no facility at Kaesong park to test for the
new flu," Chun said, adding he was now in stable condition.
Seo's case raised concerns of possible infection of North Korean workers at the
factory park, where about 40,000 North Koreans work for about 110 South Korean
businesses. Chun said Seo has mostly worked in his company office in Kaesong and
had little contact with local workers at its factory.
Three other South Korean workers who were in frequent contact with Seo also
returned to the South for checkups. "All of them tested negative," the spokesman
said.
In an Oct. 30 report, North Korea said no Influenza A cases have been reported in
the country, a claim that remains highly dubious amid the rapid spread of the
pandemic in the cold weather. Sixty-four South Koreans have died of the disease
as of Monday.
Any contact with the H1N1 virus could be particularly dangerous to people in
North Korea, many of whom are undernourished and may have impaired immune
systems, North Korea watchers say.
The South Korean government provided 30 doses of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu for
South Korean workers at the Kaesong park last week.
In May, the World Health Organization supplied an emergency stockpile of 35,000
Tamiflu tablets each to North Korea and about 70 developing countries.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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