• Korean Linguistics
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• v.72
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• pp.199-225
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• 2016

This study has two main purposes: to establish a list of source domains in the metaphors for Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and to uncover ideological meanings embedded in them in Korean news reports from KBS and JTBC. The first part of this study presents metaphors such as [MERS IS WAR], [MERS IS WAVE], [MERS IS A LIVING THING], and [MERS IS A THING], which were found in the data. The latter part of this study deals with how the two broadcasting companies use these metaphors differently according to their ideologies. In the metaphor of [MERS IS WAR], KBS tends to show less of the agents who controls the war since the war against MERS has failed which casts responsibility to the controlling agents, the government and big hospitals. In this, KBS tries to present less of the information of the responsible agents that presented in JTBC. Through the metaphor of [MERS IS WAVE], KBS presents the aftermath of MERS as something not serious. Compared to JTBC, KBS tends to suggest that the aftermath of MERS is predominantly an economic effects by metaphorically suggesting that predominantly the economic sector got hit by MERS.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.33-46
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• 2019

Purpose: Individuals suspected Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) are continuously surfacing in Korea. study the Korean public's knowledge, attitude, and preventive behaviors related to MERS as well as the factors that affect preventive behaviors for MERS. Methods: The study used a descriptive research design, and included 196 men and women aged 20 to 65 years. Data were collected through Internet surveys and self-reported questionnaires from December 1 to 30, 2017. Results: Among the participants, 88.7 percent knew cough etiquette, 84.7 percent had education about cough etiquette, and 52.6 percent had received education on MERS. The average scores for knowledge of MERS was $73.60{\pm}18.78$; attitude of MERS, $2.22{\pm}0.92$; and preventive behaviors for MERS, $62.43{\pm}16.11$. egression analysis showed that higher knowledge of MERS (${\beta}=.34$, p<.001) and higher attitude of MERS (${\beta}=.05$, p=<.001) resulted in increased preventive behaviors, people with MERS education increased preventive behaviors (${\beta}=.21$, p=.003). Conclusion: the awareness and knowledge of MERS for promoting related preventive behaviors. Therefore, education content that considers the characteristics of the target population should be organized and expanded multiple channels.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.252-260
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the level of knowledge, attitude and compliance of preventive behaviors of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) among nursing students. Methods: The study sample consisted of 219 nursing students. Through the use of a structured questionnaire, data collection was conducted from June 1st to June 30th 2015. The descriptive statistics, independent t-tests and Pearson's correlation coefficient were employed to analyze the data. Results: The score of the MERS-related knowledge was 9.15 out of 13. The participants had a positive attitude toward the MERS. The level of MERS-related knowledge was high in the case of temporary school closure or break in clinical practice because of the clinical training in hospitals that MERS occurred (t= 2.42, p= .016). The compliance level of the preventive behavior for MERS was high in female students (t= -2.11, p= .036), in the case of temporary school closure or break in clinical practice due to the clinical training in hospitals that MERS occurred (t = 3.29, p= .001), and in students that had MERS-related education for prevention (t = 2.80, p= .006). The MERS-related knowledge was positively correlated with the level of compliance for preventive behavior (r= .18, p= .009). Conclusion: To prevent MERS infection in nursing students, the level of knowledge on MERS should be enhanced so that they can practice preventive behaviors against it. Additionally, the MERS infection control education should include etiology and treatment products based on the MERS response guideline issued by the Centers for Korea Disease Control and Prevention.

• Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2017

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate psychological effects of an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a newly emerged infectious disease, on doctors. Methods After the MERS outbreak was over, we conducted an online survey of doctors who worked at the hospitals in which exposure to MERS cases had been confirmed or who were directly involved in MERS diagnosis and treatment. The Patient Health Questionnaires-9 (PHQ-9) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) assessment methods were used to assess the severity of depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms among the 64 doctors participating in the survey. Results The results of the survey indicate that 26.6% (n=17) of participants exhibited depressive symptoms and 7.8% (n=5) had post-traumatic stress symptoms. The doctors employed at hospitals with MERS cases had higher PHQ-9 and IES-R mean scores than those in doctors were not so employed. In contrast, there was no significant difference in those test scores between doctors who participated directly in MERS diagnosis and treatment and those doctors who did not. Conclusion The survey demonstrated that 28.1% (n=18) of doctors involved in MERS care suffered from depressive or posttraumatic stress symptoms, even though the MERS infection was being controlled. Working at a hospital with MERS cases was the primary determinant of the adverse psychological outcomes among doctors ; however, direct participation in the diagnosis and care of MERS patients was not significantly related to such outcomes.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.174-185
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• 2018

This study was conducted to explore the levels of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)-related knowledge, attitudes and preventive behaviors performance and to identify predictors of MERS-related preventive behaviors performance among clinical practice students in a tertiary hospital. The participants were 480 nursing and medical clinical practice students. Data collection was conducted using self-reported questionnaires in June of 2015 and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and hierarchical regression using the SPSSWIN 24.0 program. The MERS-related knowledge (9.56 out of 13 points) was high, attitudes towards MERS, such as severity cognition and prevention about MERS was positive (4.15 out of 5 points), and MERS-related preventive behaviors performance level was moderate (3.02 out of 5 points). Female students, having education experience regarding MERS, taking vaccination for influenza H1N1 infection in the last year, having the intention of taking influenza H1N1 in the current year, having fear of MERS infection, higher knowledge and more positive attitudes about MERS were predictors of better MERS-related preventive behaviors performance. These results show that general characteristics associated with MERS-related preventive behaviors performance should be considered to improve preventive behaviors of clinical practice students. Furthermore, this study highlights the need to develop effective and useful MERS education programs that provide essential knowledge and attitude about MERS that clinical practice students must acquire to promote the MERS-related preventive behaviors performance.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.143-146
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• 2015

Since 2012, outbreaks of the Middle East respiratory coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have been reported, including the Republic of Korea. To date, most of the people infected with the virus are adults. Herein we describe the clinical characteristics of cases of MERS-CoV infection among children. As of October 29, 2015, MERS-CoV has caused 34 pediatric infections, which accounts for 2.1% of all cases. The median age was 13 years (range 9 months to 17 years) and where gender has been reported (n=33), 57.6% cases were male. About half of the patients were asymptomatic and the majority of the symptomatic patients had respiratory symptoms. In general, the clinical outcome in children was favorable. Among the four patients who died of progressive pneumonia, three had documented comorbidities. MERS-CoV infection in children has a lower incidence and mortality compared to adults.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.427-438
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• 2020

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infects the lower respiratory airway of humans, leading to severe acute respiratory failure. Unlike human dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (hDPP4), a receptor for MERS-CoV, mouse DPP4 (mDPP4) failed to support MERS-CoV infection. Consequently, diverse transgenic mouse models expressing hDPP4 have been developed using diverse methods, although some models show no mortality and/or only transient and mild-to-moderate clinical signs following MERS-CoV infection. Additionally, overexpressed hDPP4 is associated with neurological complications and breeding difficulties in some transgenic mice, resulting in impeding further studies. Here, we generated stable hDPP4-transgenic mice that were sufficiently susceptible to MERS-CoV infection. The transgenic mice showed weight loss, decreased pulmonary function, and increased mortality with minimal perturbation of overexpressed hDPP4 after MERS-CoV infection. In addition, we observed histopathological signs indicative of progressive pulmonary fibrosis, including thickened alveolar septa, infiltration of inflammatory monocytes, and macrophage polarization as well as elevated expression of profibrotic molecules and acute inflammatory response in the lung of MERS-CoV-infected hDPP4-transgenic mice. Collectively, we suggest that this hDPP4-transgenic mouse is useful in understanding the pathogenesis of MERS-CoV infection and for antiviral research and vaccine development against the virus.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.274-276
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• 2015

Since the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea) began on May 11, 2015, a total of 186 persons have been infected by the MERS coronavirus, 38 of whom have died. With this number, Korea becomes second only to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the ranking of cumulative MERS cases. In this paper Korea's unique experience of an outbreak of MERS will be summarized and discussed briefly.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.46-57
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• 2018

Purpose: The purposes of the study were to examine the knowledge and practice about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) isolation precaution, and to explore influencing factors of the isolation practice among hospital nurses. Methods: A total of 182 nurses were recruited from four general hospitals where MERS patients had been treated. The knowledge and practice of MERS isolation precaution were measured by the scales developed based on the CDC guidelines. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS/WIN 22 with descriptive statistics, T-test, One-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierachical multiple regression analysis. Results: The nurses were 30 years old in average, and half of them had less than 5 years of clinical experience. and knowledge on droplet precautions (${\beta}=.171$, p=.019) were the significant predictors, explaining 19.6% of variance in the MERS isolation guideline practice. Clinical experience (${\beta}=.225$, p=.002), working at infection unit (${\beta}=-.203$, p=.011). Conclusion: The knowledge on droplet precaution and general knowledge on MERS were the important modifiable factor to improve the MERS isolation guideline practice among hospital nurses, even after adjusting clinical experience and demographic variables. It is necessary to develop an efficient education program on specific guidelines for prevention and management of infection by improving the knowledge on infectious disease such as MERS as well as droplet precaution which are modifiable factors.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.69-81
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• 2017

This study examines how South Korean governments responded to the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS) using the adaptive governance framework. As of November 24, 2015, the MERS outbreak in South Korea resulted in the quarantine of about 17,000 people, 186 cases confirmed, and a death of 38. Although the national government had overall responsibility for MERS response, there is no clear understanding of how the ministries, agencies, and subnational governments take an adaptive response to the public health crisis. The paper uses the adaptive governance framework to understand how South Korean governments respond to the unexpected event regarding the following aspects: responsiveness, public learning, scientific learning, and representativeness of the decision mechanisms. The framework helps understand how joint efforts of the national and subnational governments were coordinated to the unexpected conditions. The study highlights the importance of adaptive governance for an effective response to a public-health related extreme event.