PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

Vol.15 No.19, May 12, 2022 Article TypeCOVID-19 Special ReportEpidemiology and SurveillanceNoncommunicable Disease Statistics

• COVID-19 Special Report 2022-05-12

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  Cohabitant COVID-19 incidence rate and related factors during period of Omicron predominance (February 1 to 14, 2022)

  Young-Won Kim, Young-Man Kim, Seung-Mok Lee, Ji-Hyun Lim, Do-Sang Lim, Young-Joon Park

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(19): 1244-1250

  

  

  Abstract

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  On November 9, 2021, the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detected in South Africa and has since spread rapidly, replacing the Delta variant as the dominant strain worldwide. The Omicron variant was first detected in the Republic of Korea on December 1, 2022; then, it became the dominant strain on January 3, 2022, comprising 50.3% of the detected cases. Therefore, to evaluate the infectivity, transmissibility, and effectiveness of vaccination, the incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among the 103,050 cases that were confirmed between February 1 and 14, 2022, when 90% of the detected cases were the Omicron variant, and 209,682 cohabitants were analyzed. Of the 209,682 cohabitants, 72,609 tested positive, demonstrating a cohabitant incidence rate of 34.6%. The incidence rate for both confirmed cases and cohabitants within 90 days of receiving the third dose of the vaccine is 25.8%, which is less than half of that observed in individuals who were not vaccinated (53.1%). Furthermore, the risk of transmission from confirmed cases who had received the third dose of the vaccine less than 90 days prior compared to those who had not yet been fully vaccinated was 0.61 times lower (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.52-0.73), while the risk of transmission to a cohabitant who had received the third dose of the vaccine less than 90 days prior was 0.69 times lower (95% CI, 0.59-0.81) than those cohabitants who had not yet been fully vaccinated. The transmissibility was highest from confirmed cases to cohabitants of children under the age of 10 years, which was 0.9 times higher in females than in males (95% CI, 0.88-0.91) and among cohabitants, it was 1.2 times higher in females than males (95% CI, 1.18-1.23). In the future, evidence will be provided on the effectiveness and importance of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign to combat the Omicron variant through additional data analysis and the development of a periodic monitoring system.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-05-12

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  COVID-19 outbreak in Vietnamese community – Gyeonbuk province, September – October 2021

  Junseock Son, Dong-Hwi Kim, Myung-Jae Hwang, Hee Kyoung Kim, Taejong Son, Hyun-jeong Lim, Yunmi Hong, Min A Lim, Mi Ja Jae

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(19): 1258-1265

  

  

  Abstract

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  An epidemiological investigation first conducted interviews with ill and well individuals and then checked the trace recording system to make time, place and person associations to identify the risk factors for preparing effective quarantine measures.
  A case of Vietnamese coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak in Gyeongbuk province is the representative case shown the importance of communication and truth. During this early stage epidemiological investigation, the lack of promptness for quarantine measures derived from the language difference of language between foreigners and investigators resulted in a mass infection. During the 35 days including the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day) period, a total of 862 person’s cases were confirmed. Of these, 725 of the cases were foreigners and 137 of the cases were residents. The outbreak spread to 10 Gyeongbuk Provinces near Daegu. To overcome the lack of tracing data, the rapid testing of all relevant individuals was performed. An additional case was reported under the incubation period.
  This report suggested the importance of establishing and maintaining a surveillance system for epidemiological investigation of foreigners and reporting in a timely manner. Korea needs to develop a different way, for instance, using questionnaires and surveys written in a foreign language. Finally, Korea needs to keep in mind that “Single complaints can very well be associated with an expanding outbreak.”

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-05-12

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  The 2021 homeless tuberculosis (TB) screening in the Republic of Korea

  AhYoung Park, HeeAe Kim, HyeKyung In, Youmi Kim, JeeYeon Shin, WeonJung Joe, JinHee On, Yunsoo Kim

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(19): 1266-1279

  

  

  Abstract

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  Tuberculosis (TB) is a respiratory infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB can be completely cured by taking regular medication for more than six months. However, homeless people are a high-risk group for TB due to poor housing, hygiene, poor, nutritional conditions, and low accessibility to medical care.
  The aim of this study was to report on the results of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s (KDCA) 2021 homeless TB screening in the Republic of Korea.
  In total, 17,572 people participated in the study; homeless people on streets (1,444), homeless people in shelters (7,219), Jjok-bang(subdivided housing with shared toilets and kitchens) residents (4,131), undocumented residents/registered foreigners (3,688), and workers in shelters (1,090). In Korea, homeless people are encouraged to be screened for TB more than once every six months. In 2021, 22,943 screenings were conducted. As a result of chest x-rays (22,943 cases) and sputum examinations (3,246 cases), 35 TB patients (199.2 people per 100,000 population) were reported. This was about 5.6 times higher than the incidence of TB in the general population (35.7 people per 100,000 population, 18,335 patients in 2021). Findings indicated that there was an increased incidence of TB among males, the elderly, Koreans, smokers, drinkers, underweight individuals and individuals with TB symptoms, individuals with a history of TB, no health insurance and no TB screenings in the previous year.
  The KDCA will continue its homeless TB screening project in 2022. This will strengthen the management of TB and resolve blind spots for vulnerable groups by supporting various health and welfare links to expand the TB screening among homeless people and to improve the success rate of treatment for TB patients.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-05-12

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  Prevalence of low hand-grip strength in the elderly

  Doyeon Kim, Suyeon Park, Yoonjung Kim, Kyungwon Oh

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(19): 1280-1287

  

  

  Abstract

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  This study was conducted for the purpose of identifying the prevalence of low hand-grip strength in the elderly aged 65 and over based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Our data shows that the mean hand-grip strength peaked among individuals in their 30s, and then declined. The mean hand-grip strength of men and women was 33.7 and 20.4 kg in the elderly, and 25% of the participants had low hand-grip strength. The elderly with low hand-grip strength were older and more likely to be women, to have a low income, and to live in a rural area. When adjusted for age and income levels, the elderly with the lowest quintile of relative hand-grip strength had a higher prevalence of hypertension (68.3%) and hypercholesterolemia (33.6%) in men and a higher prevalence of hypertension (75.9%) and diabetes (43.7%) in women than those with the highest relative hand-grip strength. This study recommended developing programs that support the prevention and management of low hand-grip strength among the Korean elderly.

• Noncommunicable Disease Statistics 2022-05-12

  0 58 37

  Trends in prevalence of hypertension, 2011-2020

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(19): 1288-1289

  

  

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