• Title/Summary/Keyword: Epidemic outbreak

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The FMD Diagnostic Kit as a Boundary Object and Boundary Making: Conflicts and Negotiations Between the State-centered and Decentralized Sociotechnical Orders (경계물과 경계만들기로서 구제역 간이진단키트: 국가기술중심주의와 분권주의의 충돌)

  • Kim, Kiheung
    • Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.307-342
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    • 2018
  • This article is to discuss about a debate on controlling and handling rights of diagnostic instruments for the outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease(FMD) in South Korea between 2010 and 2011. The epidemic of FMD caused catastrophic shockwave to the whole Korean society and there was fierce debate what was the best diagnostic tool for the disease and who owned the controlling power. The central government insisted to have the power of controlling the diagnostic tool to maintain the nation-centered disease control while local governments and civil organisations attempted to take over the controlling power of the diagnostic tools. In this article the concept of boundary objects which was suggested by an American STS academic, Susan Leigh Star and her colleagues. The boundary object could be the useful concept for capturing the whole process of constructing and imposing meanings and social orders in the diagnostic tool, called the portable antibody/antigen diagnostic kit. The constructing process of this boundary object must be understood with relation to boundary making activities between different social groups.

The follow up study after massive outbreak of Akabane and bovine ephemeral fever viruses in Korea

  • Yang, Dong-Kun;Kim, Sun-Young;Kim, Ha-Hyun;Kang, Mi-Sun;Nah, Jin-Ju;Choi, Sung-Suk;Seok, Kum-Ok;Cho, Jong-Suk;Song, Jae-Young
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.151-155
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    • 2013
  • Since a large number of Akabane and bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) infection occurred in the southern part of Korea in 2010, recent information about seroprevalence of Akabane virus (AKAV) and bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV) has been required for preventing both diseases. In this study, serological assay against AKAV and BEFV using virus neutralization assay was conducted using 1,743 bovine sera collected from Namwon, Miryang, Yeongju and Uljin which located in Southern part of Korea from March to May in 2012. The overall seropositive rates for AKAV and BEFV were found to be 49.8% and 1.2%, respectively. The regional distribution of seroprevalence for AKAV ranged from 18.1% to 63.7%. Seroprevalences of AKAV were 63.7% in Miryang, 62.3% in Uljin, 50.7% in Namwon, and 18.1% in Yeongju. The seropositive rates for AKAV in southern part of Korea were higher than the annual average at the national level. On the other hand, seropositive rates of BEFV in four regions were from 0.3 to 3.1%. In detail, regional seroprevalences were 3.1% in Miryang, 2.0% in Uljin, and 1.7% in Yeongju, and 0.3% in Namwon. Even only one year after massive outbreaks, overall seropositive rates were very low, similar to the annual average at the nation level. This result indicates that many number of cattle infected with BEFV may be replaced by new born calf or cattle in farm may not be immunized with vaccines. To prevent another epidemic, a national wide warning should be issued and more aggressive control measure must be implied. Recent global warming phenomenon could lead to more vigorous activity of haematophagous vectors and it is possible that arboviral diseases such as AKAV and BEFV are increased. Therefore, continuous sero-monitoring and extensive vaccination combined with control of haematophagous vectors are important to effectively prevent and control diseases caused by AKAV and BEFV.

Spatio-Temporal Clustering Analysis of HPAI Outbreaks in South Korea, 2014 (2014년 국내 발생 HPAI(고병원성 조류인플루엔자)의 시·공간 군집 분석)

  • MOON, Oun-Kyong;CHO, Seong-Beom;BAE, Sun-Hak
    • Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.89-101
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    • 2015
  • Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza(HPAI) subtype H5N8 have occurred in Korea, January 2014 and it continued more than a year until 2015. And more than 5 million heads of poultry hads been damaged in 196 farms until May 2014. So, we studied the spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal patterns of the HPAI epidemics for understanding the propagation and diffusion characteristics of the 2014 HPAI. The results are expressed using GIS. Throughout the study period three epidemic waves occurred over the time. And outbreaks made three clusters in space. First spatial cluster is adjacent areas of province of Chungcheongbuk-do, Chungcheongnam-do and Gyeonggi -do. Second is Jeonlabuk-do Gomso Bay area. And the last is Naju and Yeongam in Jeollanam-do. Also, most of spatio-temporal clusters were formed in spatially high clustered areas. Especially, in Gomso Bay area space density and spatio-temporal density were concurrent. It means that the effective prevention activity for HPAI was carried out. But there are some exceptional areas such as Chungcheongbuk-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Gyeonggi-do adjacent area. In these areas the outbreak density was high in space but the spatio-temporal cluster was not formed. It means that the HPAI virus was continuing inflow over a long period.

Molecular epidemiological study of measles virus throughout an imported epidemic outbreak in Gyeonggi-do in 2014 (2014년 경기지역에서 발생한 해외유입 홍역 바이러스의 분자역학적 특성 분석)

  • Yun, Hee-Jeong;Park, Po-Hyun;Hwang, Sun-Il;Huh, Jeong-Weon;Nam, Soo-Jung;Yong, Kum-Chan;Yoon, Mi-Hye
    • Korean Journal of Microbiology
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    • v.53 no.1
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    • pp.1-8
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    • 2017
  • Measles virus is a highly contagious, exanthematic virus, preventable by the use of an effective live-attenuated vaccine. However, measles virus remains endemic in many area of the world causing nearly 200,000 deaths per year and still a major cause of child mortality, mostly in developing countries. In March 2014, Republic of Korea was certified as a 'national measles elimination' by the WHO as a result of a high-quality case-based surveillance system and population immunity, which was achieved by a high vaccination rate (>95.0% since 1996). But, since the beginning of 2014, the Gyeonggi province has experienced a resurgence of measles cases. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of measles viruses isolated from confirmed measles in Gyeonggi province during January 1, 2014 ~ July 31, 2014, 60 isolates were obtained from 72 confirmed measles specimens. Genotypic distributions and genetic diversities of isolated measles virus were analyzed by sequencing of nucleoprotein (N) gene. 58 (96.7%) imported cases were identified. The predominant genotype was B3, which reflects the circulating measles virus in adjacent countries. The sequences of nucleoprotein (N) gene of isolated MeV were showed that the strains characterized showed the highest degree of identity (99%) with the Philippine related strains in 2013-2014. Therefore, infected traveler returning from the Philippines transmitted secondary infection in Korea.

Characterization and Outbreak Pattern of Isolated Influenzavirus in Busan, 2000-2002 Years. (최근 3년 부산지역에서 분리한 인플루엔자바이러스의 특성 및 발생 양상)

  • 정명주;조경순
    • Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.329-333
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    • 2003
  • Influenzavirus were isolated from patients with acute respiratory infections in Busan during 2000-2002 and characterized their antigenic properties. In 2000, 39 viruses were isolated and they were identified as Influenzavirus. Among the isolated influenzavirus, 23 were A type influenzavirus and 16 were B type influenzavirus. As a result of antigenic characterization, the influenzavirus were determined to A/Sydney/05/97 (H3N2)-like, A/Beijing/262/95 (H1N1)-like, and B/Harbin/07/94-like virus. In 2001, 56 viruses were isolated and all of the viruses were identified as influenzavirus. They were A/Panama/2007/99 (H3N2)-like and A/Newcaledonia/20/99 (H1N1)-like virus In 2002, 114 Influenzaviruses were isolated. Among the isolated influenzavirus, 83 were A type influenzaviruses, and 31 were B type influenzaviruses. They were A/Panama/2007/99 (H3N2)-like, A/Newcaledonia/20/99 (H1N1)-like and B/Beijing/243/97, B/Honkong/22/2001, B/Sichuam/379/99-like virus when determined their antigenic properties. These results may be useful for the establishment of reliable epidemic data.

A Comparative Study on the Characteristics of Crimes in Quarterly according to the Corona 19 Pandemic Period (코로나19 감염병 유행 시기에 따른 분기별 범죄특성 비교분석)

  • Oh, Seiyouen;Kim, Hakbum
    • Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.674-683
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    • 2021
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in the pattern of crimes caused by the spread and slowdown of coronavirus infections and to devise preventive and countermeasures against various crimes in the future. Method: In order to find out the characteristics of each crime in the non-face-to-face and face-to-face environment, the results of previous prior research and data officially released by the National Police Agency and the prosecution office were compared and analyzed. Result: In the early epidemic of infectious diseases, overall crime has decreased, and civil life-related crimes and crimes targeting the socially disadvantaged are increasing. In the second half of the infectious disease, unlike the first half, the prolonged corona caused the economic recession and unemployment, deepening the damage from illegal private finance and significantly increasing illegal gambling game crimes. Conclusion: According to the time of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the quarterly crime characteristics showed that there was a difference in crime type and crime increase and decrease rate, and that crime response measures should be changed accordingly.

Exploratory Big Data Analysis of Albert Camus's La Peste in Post Corona era (포스트 코로나 시대 알베르 카뮈의 『페스트』에 관한 탐색적 빅데이터 분석)

  • MIN, Jinyoung
    • The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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    • v.7 no.1
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    • pp.432-438
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    • 2021
  • This dissertation's object is to confirm the drastic popularity of La Peste of Albert Camus in Korea post-corona society using big data as the mean of inductive research. Analyzing news articles concerning Camus and investigating word frequency of the book La Peste will affirm the implications La Peste has on current Korea society as the outbreak spreads. As an analysis tool, Bigkinds of Korea Press Foundation and Nuagedemots, the French version of Word Cloud were used. For the past 30 years, Albert Camus has been known in Korea as the writer of L'étranger, but after the epidemic, he earned more reputation with La Peste. Compared to L'étranger that rebelled against the world's absurdity with ennui, La peste emphasizes the importance of resistance accompanied by solidarity. La peste conveys hope by depicting disastrous situations of citizens who confront the plague by organizing a health college. The novel delivers a lot of ethical inspiration to humanity in this exceptional circumstance of COVID-19.

Application of chemical treatment for cattle and chicken carcasses for the control of livestock infectious diseases (가축 전염병 발생에 따른 소와 닭 사체의 화학적 처리 방법의 적용)

  • Lee, Taek Geun;Oh, Yeonsu;Ko, Young-Seung;Bae, Da-Yun;Tark, Dong-Seob;Rim, Chaekwang;Cho, Ho-Seong
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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    • v.45 no.2
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    • pp.117-124
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    • 2022
  • In the event of an outbreak of a livestock epidemic, it has been considered that the existing burial-centered carcass disposal method should be improved ecofriendly for prevention of leachate and odors from burial basically in regard of pathogen inactivation. Therefore, the aim of this study is whether it was possible to treat the carcass of cattle and chickens using the chemical carcass treatment method. It was conducted to establish detailed treatment standards for the chemical treatment method of cattle and chicken carcasses based on the results of the proof of the absence of infectious diseases in cattle chickens. After inoculating cattle carcass with 10 pathogens (foot and mouth disease virus, bovine viral diarrhea virus, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis, Brucella abortus, Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium chauvoei, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella Typhimurium) and chicken carcasses with low pathogenic avian influenza virus, Clostridium perfringens type C, E. coli and Salmonella Typhimurium, these were treated at 90℃ for 5 hours in a potassium hydroxide liquid solution corresponding to 15% of the body weight. This method liquefies all cadaveric components and inactivates all inoculated pathogens by PCR and culture. Based on these results, it was possible to prove that chemical treatment of cattle and chicken carcasses is effective in killing pathogens and is a safe method without the risk of disease transmission. The chemical treatment method of livestock carcasses can be suggested as an alternative to the current domestic burial-centered livestock carcass treatment method, preventing environmental pollution, and contributing to public health.

Aviation Safety Regulation and ICAO's Response to Emerging Issues (항공안전규제와 새로운 이슈에 대한 ICAO의 대응)

  • Shin, Dong-Chun
    • The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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    • v.30 no.1
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    • pp.207-244
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    • 2015
  • Aviation safety is the stage in which the risk of harm to persons or of property damage is reduced to, and maintained at or below, an acceptable level through a continuing process of hazard identification and risk management. Many accidents and incidents have been taking place since 2014, while there had been relatively safer skies before 2014. International civil aviation community has been exerting great efforts to deal with these emerging issues, thus enhancing and ensuring safety throughout the world over the years. The Preamble of the Chicago Convention emphasizes safety and order of international air transport, and so many Articles in the Convention are related to the safety. Furthermore, most of the Annexes to the Convention are International Standards and Recommended Practices pertaining to the safety. In particular, Annex 19, which was promulgated in Nov. 2013, dealing with safety management system. ICAO, as law-making body, has Air Navigation Commission, Council, Assembly to deliberate and make decisions regarding safety issues. It is also implementing USOAP and USAP to supervise safety functions of member States. After MH 370 disappeared in 2014, ICAO is developing Global Tracking System whereby there should be no loophole in tracking the location of aircraft anywhere in world with the information provided by many stakeholders concerned. MH 17 accident drove ICAO to install web-based repository where information relating to the operation in conflict zones is provided and shared. In addition, ICAO has been initiating various solutions to emerging issues such as ebola outbreak and operation under extreme meteorological conditions. Considering the necessity of protection and sharing of safety data and information to enhance safety level, ICAO is now suggesting enhanced provisions to do so, and getting feedback from member States. It has been observed that ICAO has been approaching issues towards problem-solving from four different dimensions. First regarding time, it analyses past experiences and best practices, and make solutions in short, mid and long terms. Second, from space perspective, ICAO covers States, region and the world as a whole. Third, regarding stakeholders it consults with and hear from as many entities as it could, including airlines, airports, community, consumers, manufacturers, air traffic control centers, air navigation service providers, industry and insurers. Last not but least, in terms of regulatory changes, it identifies best practices, guidance materials and provisions which could become standards and recommended practices.

Hemolytic-uremic Syndyome Associated with Bloody Diarrhea (혈변을 동반한 용혈성 요독 증후군 5례)

  • Kim Jung-Sim;Park Eun-Jung;Chung So-Hee;Ko See-Hwan;Uhm Mee-Ryung;Park Moon-Su;Lee Heung-Jea;Jin Dong-Kyu
    • Childhood Kidney Diseases
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    • v.1 no.2
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    • pp.170-175
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    • 1997
  • Purpose : Hemolytic uremic syndrome(HUS), known as a most common cause of childhood renal failure in western countries, has been a relatively rare disease in Korea. Although the reported cases were not related to any specific cause in Korea, there was an outbreak of HUS with bloody diarrhea in Japan last year. We report here that we experienced the several typical HUS last year. Patients : From Jan.1996 to Dec. 1996, five patients were diagnosed as HUS at Samsung Seoul Medical Center, Dept. Pediatrics. Results : 1) The age of onset was below 3 years in 3 cases and above 9 years in 2 cases. 2) All the cases happened between summer and autumn. Three patients had domestic travel and 4 patients drank well or spring water before the symptoms. 3) The clinical manifestation was generalized edema, oliguria, anuria and hematuria. The bloody diarrhea were present in 5 cases and 1 patient had operation with the impression of appendicitis. 4) There was no bacteria which was isolated from the blood or stool samples. 5) Renal biopsies were performed in 2 cases, because of protracted clinical course. One showed microthrombotic angiopathy and the other cortical necrosis with necrotizing glomeruli. 6) Complete recovery was the outcome in 4 cases and one case progressed to chronic renal failure. Conclusion : In conclusion, typical HUS associated with bloody diarrhea, epidemic and good prognosis can be found in Korea and careful surveillance of the pre-clinical cases will be necessary.

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