PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

Vol.17 No.14, April 11, 2024 Article TypeOriginal ArticlesQuickStatsReview & PerspectiveSurveillance Reports

• Original Articles 2024-04-11

  0 366 164

  Toxico-surveillance at Emergency Department: First Annual Report

  Sung woo Lee, Su Jin Kim, Gyu Chong Cho, Mi Jin Lee, Byung Hak So, Kyung Su Kim, Ju hyun Song

  Public Health Weekly Report 2024; 17(14): 535-560 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2024.17.14.1

  

  

  Abstract

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  The purpose of this study was to investigate poisoning causes, symptoms, and treatment, as well as the prognosis for patients with intoxication in emergency departments. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency presented the results of toxico-surveillance conducted in 15 emergency medical facilities from June 22, 2022 to May 23, 2023. A total of 5,997 poisoning cases were recorded, with the highest incidence among people in their 20s (19.0%). Therapeutic drugs were involved in 51.5% of the cases, with single substance exposure and oral ingestion accounting for 71.4% and 70.2%, respectively. The most common post-intoxication symptoms were cardiovascular manifestations, including changes in blood pressure and pulse rate (n=10,507). Treatment modalities included general treatment in 2,127 cases, specialized drug removal therapy in 135 cases, intensive care in 1,514 cases, and antidote administration in 1,314 cases. The rates of gastric lavage and activated charcoal administration were 24.5% and 25.4%, respectively, for intentional poisoning cases (n=362). The rate of flumazenil use for benzodiazepine poisoning was 23.9% (n=876). Hyperbaric oxygen treatment was used in 64.6% of severe carbon monoxide poisoning cases (COHb>25%, n=99). Finally, the rate of antivenom serum administration was 69.9% for snakebites (n=93). Severe poisoning was diagnosed in 45.8% of the cases. The general hospitalization rate was 15.4%, and the intensive care unit admission rate was 16.9%. The all-cause mortality rate was 1.7%. Pesticides were the leading substances identified in deaths (n=61, 59.8%), with 60.8% of deaths occurring in individuals aged 70 years and older. This study provides valuable insights for improving poisoning management and informing regarding poisoning prevention and care policies.

• Surveillance Reports 2024-04-11

  0 425 142

  Current Status of Domestic Mosquito Control in 2022

  Gi-Hun Kim, Chang-Won Jang, Sun-Ran Cho, Hee-Il Lee

  Public Health Weekly Report 2024; 17(14): 561-574 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2024.17.14.2

  Abstract

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  In the Republic of Korea, mosquitoes are an important vector of various diseases, including malaria and Japanese encephalitis. As mandated by the [Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act], the Public Health Center must implement vector control to suppress the occurrence and spread of mosquito-borne diseases. This survey investigates the status of mosquito control was confirmed by the insecticide purchased by the Public Health Center. The 2022 insecticide purchases amounted to 29,654 million won, representing a 5.3% increase (1,500 million won) compared to 2021. The purchase rate of chemical insecticides was confirmed a 72.1% comparing eco-friendly insecticides at 5.5%. Classification of insecticides by mode of action resulted in a total of 12 classes, with the pyrethroid accounting for the largest proportion (51.4%). When comparing insecticide purchase rates by growth stage, the adulticide purchase rate (72.5%) was higher than the larvicide purchase (27.5%). Analysis of insecticides purchased by public institutions, reveals a dependence on chemical control for adult mosquitos. However, long-term use of chemicals has a number of side effects, including the development of insecticide resistance. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new control strategy that reduces the side effects of chemical agents by using eco-friendly or physical control instead of chemical control, while also targeting both adults and larvae in an appropriate ratio.

• Review & Perspective 2024-04-11

  0 917 116

  Quality Control of Laboratory Animals in Laboratory Animal Facility of Infectious Diseases

  Kang Mo Lee, Keon-Jae Park, Nam-Jin Lee, Haeng-Seop Shin

  Public Health Weekly Report 2024; 17(14): 575-586 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2024.17.14.3

  Abstract

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  The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) operates infectious animal laboratories with biosafety level 2–3 and clean animal rooms. As the number of animal-related studies and the use of laboratory animals have increased recently in response to exotic infectious diseases, the quality control of laboratory animals has become more important to derive experimental results that guarantee reliability and reproducibility. This manuscript aims to raise awareness among researchers conducting animal experiments by guiding the quality control of laboratory animals in terms of microbiology, genetics, and the environment at the laboratory animal facilities of the KDCA.

• Review & Perspective 2024-04-11

  2 340 143

  The Comparison of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine Adverse Events between Korea and the UK and Implications for Vaccine Adverse Event Management System

  Joowon Lee, Haesook Seo, Soyoung Oh, Hyerin Gim

  Public Health Weekly Report 2024; 17(14): 587-613 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2024.17.14.4

  

  

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  Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination programs in the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United Kingdom (UK) have been successfully implemented by providing the most available vaccines in a timely manner. Both countries have collected post-vaccination adverse event (AE) data to continuously monitor evolving vaccine safety, and the cumulative number of individual case safety reports ( ICSRs) obtained in the two countries has exceeded 0.48 million in total, respectively. The numbers of AEs per ICSR and AE types as well as the probability of having a serious AE per ICSR were lower in the ROK than in the UK. These findings could imply that the ROK might have adopted different standards and processes from those in the UK. For example, there were marked inter-country differences in acceptable reporter types, seriousness criteria, causality assessment criteria, and AE coding system, which could have resulted from the low level of acceptance of internationally recognized pharmacovigilance principles in the ROK. The International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) guidelines are widely adopted by national regulatory authorities in many countries including the United States, European Union countries, and the UK, with research institutions and pharmaceutical companies being no exception. The ROK needs to improve the Adverse Event Following Immunization management system to practice more effective and sustainable vaccine safety monitoring by adopting ICH guidelines.

• QuickStats 2024-04-11

  0 70 81

  Trends in the Prevalence of Secondhand Smoke Exposure, 2013–2022

  Public Health Weekly Report 2024; 17(14): 614-615 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2024.17.14.5

  

  

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