HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES SURGE

[Anchor Lead]

The premature heat wave has caused a spike in heat-related illnesses. The number of people suffering from such conditions nearly tripled from the previous summer and three people have already died this month. Also, people should not feel that they are safe from these illnesses even in the morning hours.

[Pkg]

Daily highs surpassed 34 degrees Celsius in Changnyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do Province last Friday. A 40-something worker loading boxes died after passing out in the heat.

[Soundbite] (OO Produce Distribution Center Employee(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "He must have worked for an hour and a half. He called for me. He was lying inside the garlic dehydration chamber."

This patient in his twenties saw a doctor after suffering from persistent symptoms of heat-related illness. She had exercised outdoors on a hot day.

[Soundbite] Yun Hyo-bin(Heat Illness Patient) : "I sweat more than usual and feel faint. Once I experienced the symptoms, they seemed to persist for a week or two. So I came to the hospital."

So far this year, 434 cases of heat-related illnesses have been reported, almost triple the number from the same period last year. Three deaths have also already been reported. People suffer most from heat-related illnesses between three and four o'clock in the afternoon. But one out of five cases occurred before noon. People are being advised not to let their guard down even in the morning hours. People should especially look out for heatstroke, which disrupts the body's temperature adjustment function and causes fever and eventual unconsciousness.

[Soundbite] Kwon Hyuk-tae(Dir., Health Promotion Center, SNU Hospital) : "Not treating heatstroke properly could result in death. It's the most dangerous illness, so when you see an unconscious or comatose person, you should call 119 immediately and go to the ER."

One out of three heat-related patients are aged 65 or older. Elderly people's sweat glands tend to lose functionality, making it difficult for them to control body temperature and to feel thirst even when dehydrated. Doctors advise people to drink more than 1.5 liters of water a day. They also warn that a sudden drop in surrounding temperatures could cause a heart attack.