Korean Job Discussion Forums

[peter07]

I just heard from my friend that a 40-something Canadian expat who lived in Korea for many years just died three weeks after catching Japanese encephalitis. He was bitten by a mosquito then complained of fever and other symptoms and went to the hospital. He fell into a coma two days afterwards and died a few weeks later.

I remember talking to this guy several times and he seemed like a nice guy. I'm also getting all vaccines I can next week.

Stay healthy by getting vaccinations.

[mellow-d]

That's really scary news. Any idea how much this vaccine costs here in Korea? In Canada, I didn't get it because I was quoted at $575.00 for three rounds of shots and I didn't have the money or time to get it done.

[Seoulmann]

[ttompatz]

[nathanrutledge]

It's not a really scary story, it's life (and death).

The odds of catching the disease are pretty low. The odds of dying from it are pretty low. The fact is that there are certain risk factors and at risk groups. Age, general health, etc all play a role in this. A male, in his 40's is all we know.

I'm not saying don't get a vaccine, but I am saying that while this guy died from encephalitis, he could have just as easily died from the flu, which kills scores of people every year, too.

While this is indeed sad, and I feel sympathy for his friends and family, this is not something to get worked up about.

[mellow-d]

I'm not too worried about it but it's nice to know it's pretty cheap to get vaccinated for it. I have a horrible problem with mosquitos in my apartment here in Seoul and I'm getting bit every other day so it would be nice to know where this guy got bit. I heard it's more of a problem in rural areas.

[peter07]

I'm not sure where the guy was bitten, but he lived in or around Seoul and was a regular at 3 Alley Pub and vicinity.

[bobbybigfoot]

Unless this becomes widespread, I'll chalk this up as a tragic fluke.

[toby99]

His stool at 3 Alley:

http://3alleypub.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/martin-passed-away-yesterday/

[PatrickGHBusan]

To put this disease in perspective:

http://www.dhpe.org/infect/jpenceph.html


The poor guy was incredibly unlucky to catch this and die from it. If he caught it in Seoul, he was even unluckier as the odds of this are even lower.

Poor guy anyway.

[recessiontime]

if only there were jobs back home, he wouldn't had had to go overseas and get sick and die. It's a tragedy.

[Beeyee]

Holy crap I just saw the picture and realized I was speaking to that guy not too long ago

RIP.