--- description: Death toll climbs to 19 as hospitals test new blood plasma treatment on infected patients title: South Korea MERS Treatment Goes Into Clinical Trials image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf776309120ffc810/698854b9524fc08b41df3220/gettyimages-477297968.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Infectious Disease](/tag/infectious-disease/) ## Infectious Disease Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # South Korea Tests Plasma Treatment to Combat MERS Outbreak  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 16, 2015 12:39 PM CUT  Disinfection workers wearing protective clothing spray anti-septic solution in an karaoke amid rising public concerns over the spread of MERS virus on June 16, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. Disinfection workers wearing protective clothing spray anti-septic solution in an karaoke amid rising public concerns over the spread of MERS virus on June 16, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea.Chung Sung—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 16, 2015 12:39 PM CUT South Korean hospitals have launched clinical trials for an experimental treatment of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a potentially lethal virus that has claimed 19 lives since it first broke out across the country four weeks ago. The country’s health ministry said Tuesday that two hospitals will use blood plasma from patients who recovered from the disease to treat those who are currently infected, the BBC [reports](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33146828 "undefined"). Some 150 South Koreans have tested positive for MERS and a further 5,200 have been [quarantined](http://time.com/3920859/south-korea-mers-outbreak-who/ "undefined") as officials work to contain the outbreak. The first lethal infection reached Germany on Tuesday, as a 65-year-old man succumbed to the disease in a clinic in Osnabruck. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33146828 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3922503/south-korea-plasma-mers-treatment/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3922503/south-korea-plasma-mers-treatment/"},"headline":"South Korea Tests Plasma Treatment to Combat MERS Outbreak","datePublished":"2015-06-16T12:39:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:14:31.095Z","description":"Death toll climbs to 19 as hospitals test new blood plasma treatment on infected patients","url":"https://time.com/3922503/south-korea-plasma-mers-treatment/","keywords":["Infectious Disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf776309120ffc810/698854b9524fc08b41df3220/gettyimages-477297968.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf776309120ffc810/698854b9524fc08b41df3220/gettyimages-477297968.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Struggles To Contain MERS Continue In South Korea","caption":"Struggles To Contain MERS Continue In South Korea","creditText":"Chung Sung—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3922503/south-korea-plasma-mers-treatment/","name":"South Korea Tests Plasma Treatment to Combat MERS Outbreak"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: What Is MERS?","description":"South Korea is battling with an outbreak of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, a a viral respiratory infection that causes fever, coughs and breathing difficulties. But what exactly is MERS and what are the chances of a global outbreak?","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/H2goDvhB/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-09T06:58:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/H2goDvhB.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3922503/south-korea-plasma-mers-treatment/","duration":"PT1M5S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3922503/south-korea-plasma-mers-treatment/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```