• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.1-9
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this article was to assess epidemiological characteristics and recommendations for strengthening national response and preparedness after MERS-CoV outbreak in Korea, 2015. Methods: The author reviewed epidemiological reports and policy recommendations on MERS-CoV outbreak in Korea, 2015. Results: There was no evidence that genetical difference between the MERS viruses in the Republic of Korea and recent viruses in the Middle East. From the index case to last laboratory-confirmed case, there were 186 laboratory-confirmed cases that included 36 deaths(19.4%), all of whom appear epidemiologically linked to the index cases or subsequent secondary, tertiary, and quaternary cases. This outbreak spread to hospitals through nosocomial transmission. At least, three large clusters were investigated. However, there was at least one case of community transmission of MERS-CoV. Several factors had contributed to the MERS outbreak in Korea, 2015 that including epidemiological characteristics, and infrastructure of national healthcare system for preventing and controlling emerging infectious diseases. Conclusions: It is very important that to share experiences and identify underlying causes of this outbreak for prevention and control of emerging infectious disease in the future; including epidemiology, clinical features, and public health response and preparedness.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.278-285
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• 2016

Epidemiological studies have shown the association between transportation of live animals and the potential transmission of infectious disease between premises. This finding was also observed in the 2014-2015 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Korea. Furthermore, slaughterhouses played a key role in the global spread of the FMD virus during the epidemic. In this context, in-depth knowledge of the structure of direct and indirect contact between slaughterhouses is paramount for understanding the dynamics of FMD transmission. But the social network structure of vehicle movements to slaughterhouses in Korea remains unclear. Hence, the aim of this study was to configure a social network topology of vehicle movements between slaughterhouses for a better understanding of how they are potentially connected, and to explore whether FMD outbreaks can be explained by the network properties constructed in the study. We created five monthly directed networks based on the frequency and chronology of on- and off-slaughterhouse vehicle movements. For the monthly network, a node represented a slaughterhouse, and an edge (or link) denoted vehicle movement between two slaughterhouses. Movement data were retrieved from the national Korean Animal Health Integrated System (KAHIS) database, which tracks the routes of individual vehicle movements using a global positioning system (GPS). Electronic registration of livestock movements has been a mandatory requirement since 2013 to ensure traceability of such movements. For each of the five studied networks, the network structures were characterized by small-world properties, with a short mean distance, a high clustering coefficient, and a short diameter. In addition, a strongly connected component was observed in each of the created networks, and this giant component included 94.4% to 100% of all network nodes. The characteristic hub-and-spoke type of structure was not identified. Such a structural vulnerability in the network suggests that once an infectious disease (such as FMD) is introduced in a random slaughterhouse within the cohesive component, it can spread to every other slaughterhouse in the component. From an epidemiological perspective, for disease management, empirically derived small-world networks could inform decision-makers on the higher potential for a large FMD epidemic within the livestock industry, and could provide insights into the rapid-transmission dynamics of the disease across long distances, despite a standstill of animal movements during the epidemic, given a single incursion of infection in any slaughterhouse in the country.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.271-280
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• 2014

Foot-and-mouth Disease (FMD) is a highly infectious and fatal viral livestock disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals domestic and wild and the FMD outbreak in Korea in 2010/2011 was a disastrous incident for the country and the economy. Thus, efforts at the national level are put to prevent foot-and-mouth disease and to reduce the damage in the case of outbreak. As one of these efforts, it is useful to study the spread of the disease by using probabilistic model. In fact, after the FMD epidemic in the UK occurred in 2001, many studies have been carried on the spread of the disease using a variety of stochastic models as an effort to prepare future outbreak of FMD. However, for the FMD outbreak in Korea occurred in 2010/2011, there are few study by utilizing probabilistic model. This paper assumes a stochastic spatial-temporal susceptible-infectious-removed (SIR) epidemic model for the 2010/2011 FMD outbreak to understand spread of the disease. Since data on infections of FMD disease during 2010/2011 outbreak of Aniaml and Plant Quarantine Agency and on the livestock farms from the nationwide census in 2011 of Statistics Korea do not have detail informations on address or missing values, we generate detail information on address by randomly allocating farms within corresponding Si/Gun area. The kernel function is estimated using the infection data and by using simulations, the susceptibility and transmission of the spatial-temporal stochastic SIR models are determined.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.15-18
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• 2020

Canine heartworm disease is a vector-borne disease that is transmitted from dog to dog by mosquitoes. It causes epidemics that disrupt the health environments of dogs and are burdensome for many dog owners. Recent trends of changing temperatures and weather conditions in South Korea may have an impact on the population of mosquitoes, and it affects the population of dogs at risk of heartworm infection. Mathematical modeling has become an important measure for analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of infectious diseases. However, canine heartworm infection transmission has not been reported yet through mathematical modeling. We develop a mathematical model of canine heartworm infection to predict the population of infected dogs depending on the vector (mosquito) population using a susceptible, exposed, infected, and recovered model. Simulation results show that after 1 year, 3,289 dogs out of 73,602 (about 4.5%) are exposed and 134 (about 0.2%) are infected. Only 0.2% of susceptible dogs become infected after 1 year. However, if all exposed dogs are maintained in the same circumstances without any treatment, then the number of infected subjects will increase over time. This may increase the possibility of other dogs, especially dogs that live outside, being infected.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.1109-1114
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• 2016

H3N2 canine influenza virus emerged in South Korea in 2007 and subsequently spread to China and Thailand, causing epidemic or endemic respiratory diseases in dogs. Through intermammalian species transmission, the virus has also infected cats. However, no direct evidence of significant genetic evolution has been reported since its first emergence. Here, we describe in depth the genetic and molecular characteristics of the ancestral strain (i.e., the first virus isolate from South Korea) of the H3N2 canine influenza virus currently circulating in East Asia.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.356-367
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• 2022

Background: The emergence of new infectious diseases threatens public health, increasing socioeconomic damage, and national risks. This study aimed to develop an evidence-based risk assessment tool to quickly respond to new infectious diseases. Methods: The risk elements were extracted by reviewing the risk assessment methods of the World Health Organization, United States, Europe, United Kingdom, and Germany, and the validity and priority of elements were determined through expert meetings and Delphi surveys. Then, the scale and level for each risk element were defined and a final score calculation method according to the risk evaluation result was derived. The developed risk assessment tool was verified using data at the time of domestic transmission of an emerging infectious disease. Results: In case of spread of actual infectious diseases, priority is determined based on the criticality of the elements in each area of transmissibility and severity, from which the weighted score of the risk assessment is derived. Then, the risk score for each element was calculated by multiplying the average value of the risk evaluation by its weight and the evaluation risk assessment score for the two areas was calculated. At last, the final score is plotted in a matrix where the x-axis indicates the transmissibility and the y-axis the severity and plotted on the coordinate plane for time series use. Conclusion: With respect to transmissibility and severity, this risk assessment method to respond to new and re-emerging infectious diseases enables rapid and evidence-based evaluation by quantitatively and qualitatively assessing various risk elements.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.180-183
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• 2020

Purpose: To describe pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases after the reopening of schools in the Republic of Korea and their transmission routes. Methods: All case report forms and epidemiologic investigation forms for children aged 3-18 years reported as COVID-19 cases to the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System from May 1 to July 12, 2020, were reviewed. Results: After the schools were reopened in May 2020, a total of 127 pediatric COVID-19 cases were confirmed until July 12. Of these, 59 children (46%) were exposed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 through family and relatives, followed by 18 children (14%) through cram schools or private lessons, 8 children (6%) through multi-use facilities, and 3 children (2%) through school. Conclusions: The present data do not suggest an increased risk of COVID-19 transmission in the context of stringent school-based infection prevention measures introduced across the country.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.297-307
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• 2017

The epidemic model is used to model the spread of disease and to control the disease. In this research, we utilize SEIR model which is one of applications the SIR model that incorporates Exposed step to the model. The SEIR model assumes that a people in the susceptible contacted infected moves to the exposed period. After staying in the period, the infectee tends to sequentially proceed to the status of infected, recovered, and removed. This type of infection can be used for research in cases where there is a latency period after infectious disease. In this research, we collected respiratory infectious disease data for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERSCoV). Assuming that the spread of disease follows a stochastic process rather than a deterministic one, we utilized the Poisson process for the variation of infection and applied epidemic model to the stochastic chemical reaction model. Using observed pandemic data, we estimated three parameters in the SIER model; exposed rate, transmission rate, and recovery rate. After estimating the model, we applied the fitted model to the explanation of spread disease. Additionally, we include a process for generating the Exposed trajectory during the model estimation process due to the lack of the information of exact trajectory of Exposed.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.227-233
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• 2009

Local malaria transmission in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came to an end in 1997. Nevertheless, UAE has been subjected to substantial importation of malaria cases from abroad, concerning both UAE nationals and immigrants from malarious countries with a total number of 2,119 cases in 2007. To evaluate a new DNA extraction technique using nested PCR, blood samples were collected from 132 individuals who presented to Infectious Diseases Department in Rashid Hospital, Dubai, and Central Department of Malaria Control with fever and persistent headache. Giemsa-stained blood films and ELISA test for malaria antibodies were carried out for detection of Plasmodium infection. Plasmodium infections were identified with the genus-specific primer set and species differentiation using nested PCR. A rapid procedure for diagnosis of malaria infections directly from dried blood spots using for the first time DNA extract from FTA Elute cards was evaluated in contrast to extraction techniques using FTA classic cards and rapid boiling technique. Our new simple technique for DNA extraction using FTA Elute cards was very sensitive giving a sensitivity of 100% compared to 94% using FTA classic cards and 62% in the rapid boiling technique. No complex preparation of blood samples was required prior to the amplification. The production cost of DNA isolation in our PCR assay was much less incomparable to that of other DNA extraction protocols. The nested PCR detected plasmodial infection and could differentiate P. falciparum from P. vivax, and also detected the mixed infection.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.247-257
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• 2020

Livestock epidemics, such as foot and mouth disease, are causing enormous economic losses due to their strong infectious power. Early detection of infectious diseases in livestock is very important, but it is difficult to diagnose early in individual farms, and there are frequent cases of transmission through inter-farm movement such as veterinarians and feeding vehicles. In this study, we studied the technology that enables rapid diagnosis without veterinarian farm visits and prevents further spread by automatically monitoring the body temperature of livestock using ubiquitous-based information and communication technology in the early stage of onset and sending it in real time. We have presented a technique for systematically managing livestock epidemics at the farm level, regional level, and national level by using the community mapping technique by using the remote medical treatment system linked to the automatically collected information. In this process, community mapping items for each step and stakeholders were derived for crowd sourcing based spatial information technology.