Humidifier sterilizer may have caused mysterious lung disease: gov't

SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- A sterilizer used in household humidifiers may have caused the mysterious hardening of lungs that killed several people this year, a government health agency said Wednesday.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said detailed examinations of patients who suffered from the unknown disease revealed a strong connection between the sterilizer and the illness.
"Through careful examination of physical conditions and other factors, the KCDC has determined that a person exposed to humidifiers that used the sterilization agent had a 47.3 times greater risk of catching the lung disease than those who did not," the center under the health ministry said.
Those who caught the disease used the sterilizer almost every time they changed the water in their humidifiers, the center said.
The disease generally affected mothers who gave birth in April and May, with doctors unable to determine why young, healthy women were getting sick with similar symptoms.
At a university hospital in Seoul, 17 people were admitted this year after their lungs started to harden. Of the total, five have died so far, with three others in critical condition although they managed to survive by getting lung transplants.
The KCDC, however, said that in order to be absolutely sure that the sterilizers are the cause, it must conduct tests for at least three more months.
Because of the risks found, sterilizer makers have been told to discontinue production, with the general public requested to avoid using sterilizer in their humidifiers, it added.
yonngong@yna.co.kr