The number of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome patients in South Korea remained unchanged at 186 on Thursday as the country reported no additional cases of the disease for the past 18 days.
  

The country also reported no additional fatalities from the potentially deadly disease, with the death toll remaining flat at 36 for the 13th consecutive day, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
  

The number of remaining patients has dropped to 12, down one from the previous day.
  

The rest have been discharged from hospitals following complete recoveries. Out of the 12 patients still hospitalized, 11 have also tested negative for the disease though they were still recovering from other complications caused by MERS, ministry officials said.
  

Apart from those diagnosed, three people were in isolation as suspected cases.
  

So far, nearly 16,700 people have been subject to isolation for possible infection since the country reported its first MERS case on May 20.
  

Most of them have been released after showing no symptoms of the disease for more than the known maximum incubation period of 14 days for MERS.
  

MERS is a viral respiratory disease that was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
  

The disease has since claimed over 530 lives throughout the world, posting a fatality rate of about 36 percent.
  

In South Korea, the fatality rate of the disease stands at 19.4 percent. (Yonhap)