PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

Vol.18 No.14, April 10, 2025 Article TypeOriginal ArticlesQuickStatsSurveillance Reports

• Surveillance Reports 2025-04-10

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  Analysis of the Pertussis Status in Jeju Special Self-Governing Province in 2024

  Dae-woon Park , Ji-hyeon Kim , Se-Hyuk Jang , Ju-won Kim , Young-soon Hwang

  Public Health Weekly Report 2025; 18(14): 563-583 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2025.18.14.1

  

  

  Abstract

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  Objectives: Pertussis is a sporadic infectious disease, and no large-scale outbreaks have previously occurred in Jeju However, an unprecedented outbreak was anticipated by 2024. This study aimed to analyze the pertussis cases reported in Jeju in 2024 and share the findings.
  Methods: We analyzed pertussis cases reported to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Integrated Disease Management System between January 1 and December 31, 2024. Epidemiological investigation reports were used to assess cases’ scale, location, demographics, and clinical characteristics. Cross-validation was performed using infectious disease reports, laboratory test results, and cluster outbreak reports to determine outbreak size, location, and transmission patterns.
  Results: Most cases were reported in Nohyeong-dong, Jeju City (218 cases), and Daecheon-dong, Seogwipo City (13 cases). The number of cases increased in June and peaked in July. Among the 960 reported cases, 832 were students, and males (606 cases) were nearly twice as affected as females (354 cases). The main clinical symptom was coughing, including mild cough (99.6%), whooping cough (17.2%), and paroxysmal cough (29.3%). Although 844 cases (87.9%) had received at least one vaccine dose, only 641 cases (66.8%) had completed the full vaccination series. There were 45 cluster outbreaks in schools, accounting for 678 cases (70.6%).
  Conclusions: Cases were concentrated in densely populated areas, predominantly affecting males and school-aged children rather than infants. Cases mainly occurred during the summer, and the sixth-dose vaccination rate was lower than the fifth-dose rate. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the pertussis outbreak in Jeju and highlights the need for revised response measures to improve pertussis prevention and management.

• Original Articles 2025-04-10

  0 273 68

  Comparison of Rapid Diagnostic Tests for the Detection of Plasmodium vivax Malaria

  Bora Ku , Haneul Jung , Hyun-Il Shin , Myoung-Ro Lee , Jung-Won Ju , Hee-Il Lee

  Public Health Weekly Report 2025; 18(14): 584-595 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2025.18.14.2

  Abstract

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  Objectives: Malaria is an acute febrile disease caused by infections transmitted by mosquitoes. Among the five types of malaria parasites capable of infecting humans, Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium knowlesi, there were 263 million cases of malaria reported in 83 countries worldwide in 2023. In Republic of Korea, only P. vivax is prevalent, occurring in parts of Incheon, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Seoul, which are adjacent to North Korea. Diagnostic methods for confirming malaria include microscopic and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Presumptive diagnostic methods include rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), which are recommended for early diagnosis of malaria because they can be used in the field without restrictions. In this study, among the malaria RDTs approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, sensitivity and specificity were measured for four Pf/Pan kits that can detect all five types of malaria.
  Methods: Positive samples confirmed by nested PCR were used to calculate the rate of parasitemia based on the cycle threshold value of real-time PCR.
  Results: The comparative test results of the kits showed that the sensitivity of each kit ranged from 70.9% to 96.5%, and in particular, samples with a low rate of parasitemia had differences in sensitivity from 43.8% to 93.8%. However, specificity was confirmed to be 100.0% for all kits.
  Conclusions: The results of this study provide the information necessary for product selection by identifying differences in the effectiveness of RDTs used for the presumptive diagnosis of malaria.

• QuickStats 2025-04-10

  0 132 58

  Trends in the Prevalence of Secondhand Smoke Exposure, 2014–2023

  Doyeon Kim

  Public Health Weekly Report 2025; 18(14): 596-597 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2025.18.14.3

  

  

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