PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

Vol.15 No.25, June 23, 2022 Article TypeCOVID-19 Special ReportEpidemiology and SurveillanceNoncommunicable Disease Statistics

• COVID-19 Special Report 2022-06-23

  0 141 73

  Evaluation of COVID-19 outbreaks and risk factors related to nursing hospital and nursing home in Gyeongbuk Province

  Myung-Jae Hwang, Insob Hwang, Sohyun Kim, Hee Kyoung Kim, Chungmin Park, Gyeong Ran Moon, Junseock Son, Taejong Son

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(25): 1748-1758

  

  

  Abstract

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  In January 2022, as Omicron variant spread across the Republic of Korea, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rapidly increased, particularly in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) such as nursing hospitals or nursing homes. This report analyzed the situation of COVID-19 outbreaks and fatalities related to LTCFs reported in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do, and evaluated the risk factors through site visits to facilities. The aim of this study was to present evidence that can be used when establishing plans to prevent and respond to COVID-19 in the LTCFs. From January 2 to April 30, 2022, a total of 1,384,631 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do, of which 2.5% (34,947 cases) were infected from LTCFs. This number accounted for 1 to 4% of the total number of confirmed cases, and the number of cases related to nursing hospitals or nursing homes peaked on 4th and 5th weeks of March, when the number of confirmed cases also peaked nationwide. Overall, the proportion of COVID-19 cases related to these facilities compared to the total number of confirmed cases did not change significantly, but it was observed that the proportion of deaths reported from nursing hospitals and nursing homes increased significantly during the same period. From the first week of March, the number of deaths reported from LTCFs compared to the total number of deaths increased continuously, and it took up the highest proportion at 43.7% in the fourth week and remained at around 30%.
  Most of the patients in the nursing hospitals or nursing homes were immunocompromised or had underlying diseases. Therefore, when infected with COVID-19, the severity and risk of fatality may be higher than in the general population. Based on the aforementioned results, this study recommended establishing plans to prevent and respond to COVID-19 in the LTCFs.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-06-23

  0 126 104

  Outbreak report of COVID-19 during designation of class 1 infectious disease in the Republic of Korea (January 20, 2020 and April 24, 2022)

  Seonhee Ahn, Jinhwa Jang, Shin Young Park, Boyeong Ryu, Seon-Yeong Lee, Eunjeong Shin, Na-Young Kim, HyunJu Lee, Dong Hwi Kim, Myeongsu Yoo, Jonggul Lee, Taeyoung Kim, Ae Ri Kang, Seo Hyun Kim, Seong-Sun Kim, Donghyok Kwon

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(25): 1759-1772

  

  

  Abstract

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  As the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) around the world peaked in 2022 and has continued to decline, several countries have eased prevention and control measures against In the Republic of Korea, COVID-19 had been designated as Class 1 Infectious Diseases from January 20, 2020 to April 24, 2022. In consideration of high vaccination rate, introduction of therapeutic agents and the characteristics of variants, COVID-19 has been reclassified to Class 2 Infectious Diseases since April 25, 2022.
  Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) analyzed the characteristics of COVID-19 outbreaks during designation of Class 1 Infectious Disease in the Republic of Korea.
  In total, there were 16,929,564 COVID-19 confirmed cases, including 31,828 imported cases during this period. The incidence rate was 32,785 per 100,000 people and the maximum number of confirmed cases per day was 621,177. Severe and critical cases were 22,137 and the case fatality rate was 0.14% with 23,045 death cases. Among all the cases, 9,084,961 (53.8%) occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area (Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province) and 7,812,775 (46.2%) occured in areas outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Among the confirmed cases, 4,117,327 (24.3%) 18 or under 18 years old, 9,812,940 (58.0%) were between 19-59 years old and those 2,999,299 (17.7%) were 60 or over 60 years old.
  Through the lessons learned from pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions and public health measures for the COVID-19 pandemic, Korean government should prepare for the next COVID-19 resurgence will be caused by new variants or waning of acquired immunity as time passed.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-06-23

  0 87 70

  Infection status of intestinal helminths in 2021

  Myoung-Ro Lee, Jung-Won Ju, Seon-Ok Baek, Young-Ju Lee, Hee-Il Lee

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(25): 1773-1783

  

  

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  The infection status of intestinal parasites among residents living in endemic areas that have high level infection rates of food-borne parasites such as Clonorchis sinensis were investigated in 2021. This study’s survey used a test method that gathered stool samples from residents in the endemic areas and the number of eggs were confirmed by microscope. The rates of intestinal parasite infection were found to have declined by 0.7% from 5.9% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2021. The infection rate of C. sinensis was 3.3%, and heterophyid flukes was 1.6%, and 0.3% for Trichuris trichiura. Furthermore, a new area (Yeongdong-gun) was investigated. The infection rates of intestinal parasites was 10.0% which was the third highest infection rate among all participating areas. Continuous testing and monitoring are necessary to reduce the rate of intestinal parasite infection.

• Noncommunicable Disease Statistics 2022-06-23

  0 70 54

  Trends in intake of beverages, 2011-2020

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(25): 1784-1785

  

  

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