With South Korea's outbreak of the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) finally slowing, the country is preparing to actively combat the deadly virus.

According to BBC News, South Korea will try a plasma treatment trial designed to help those infected using blood samples from people who have recovered from MERS. The country confirmed their total infections reached 150, their death toll 19.

Government officials have emphasized for a few days that the outbreak - the second largest in the world to Saudi Arabia - is slowing, with less people becoming infected. However, MERS does not have a cure or vaccine, so people's existing conditions may continue to worsen for some time.

MERS, which comes from the same viral family as SARS, initially originated in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and spread to other Middle Eastern countries. MERS arrived in South Korea when a 68-year-old man returned home last month after contracting it in the Middle East.

A vast majority - possibly even all subsequent cases have been transferred in healthcare facilities due to interpersonal contact. South Korea responded by placing thousands in mandatory and voluntary quarantine.

The blood plasma treatment has already been administered to a 35-year-old police officer and a 38-year-old hospital worker, the Washington Post reported. The experimental treatment was previously used for some people with Ebola and was successful in some cases.

"Blood plasma injection is not a medically proven treatment, but is often carried out in the absence of other treatments available," an official at Hallym University Medical Center told the Korea Times. "The treatment was carried out in an attempt to improve the dire condition the two are in. Implementing the treatment is an option so long as it is done with the consent of the donor and the receiver."

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