Third day with no new MERS cases in South Korea

The number of those to have been infected by MERS remain unchanged at 182, South Korea's health ministry says. - AFP/File / Jung Yeon-Je

Seoul (AFP) - South Korea said Tuesday it had gone three days without any new cases of the deadly MERS virus, in a welcome boost to efforts to tackle the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia.

The news came as the health ministry said an 81-year-old woman who contracted Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in late May had become the 33rd fatality from the current outbreak.