The Ministry of National Defense said Thursday it plans to dispatch medical officers to a civilian hospital to lend support in the nationwide fight against MERS.
  

"A total of 24 military surgeons and nurses will be sent to the Daejeon Dae Cheong Hospital starting tomorrow to take care of patients there infected with the virus," ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters.
  

It will be the first case of the military providing such support to contain Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
  

Noting that the decision was made after a request from the municipal government of Daejeon, central South Korea, the spokesman said the ministry "will actively consider taking similar steps if other local entities want."
  

Since the outbreak started last month, the virus has killed nine and infected more than 100 people in South Korea.
  

As of Thursday afternoon, no confirmed MERS patients exist among the country's servicemembers. The Air Force's chief master sergeant that had been diagnosed was released from the hospital earlier in the day, along with four others who had been suspected of being infected, according to government data. (Yonhap)