Australian hospitals have been urged to carry out travel history checks on patients to avoid an outbreak of the deadly MERS virus.
Middle East Respiratory Disease has taken hold in South Korea, where 32 people have died since May from almost 200 known infections.
The bulk of those people were infected at Seoul's Samsung Medical Centre, with experts warning Australian hospitals must act now to prevent any repeat here.
The Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) says all hospital emergency departments should update standard admission procedures to include travel history checks.
"If we have in place a routine which asks people where they have travelled in the past month, we will we have a much better chance of isolating potential diseases and putting in place effective infection control," ACIPC spokesman Professor Peter Collignon said on Monday.
So far there have been no cases of MERS in Australia.
The World Health Organisation says there have been 1338 confirmed cases across the world since 2012, including at least 475 deaths.
All cases can be linked to a person who has either lived in or travelled to the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, with camels suspected of being the primary source of infection for humans.
The South Korean outbreak began on May 20 when a 68-year-old man was diagnosed after returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia. The outbreak has since become the biggest outside Saudi Arabia.
The Australian government has introduced screening for passengers arriving from affected countries.
And Australians planning to visit MERS-affected parts of the globe, including South Korea, have been warned to expect to be tested if they appear to be unwell.
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