PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

Vol.14 No.3, January 14, 2021 Article TypeEpidemiology and SurveillanceNoncommunicable Disease Statistics

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2021-01-14

  0 327 61

  Clinical Information Analysis of Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients by Severity in Chungnam Province, Korea

  Jo Da-Hye, Lim Ji-Ae, Seo Jeung-Eun, Cheon Young-Hee, Jeong Seung-Hee, Kang Gi-Seok, Choi Dong-Kwon, Kim Jin-A, Kwon Ho-Jang

  Public Health Weekly Report 2021; 14(3): 104-112

  Abstract

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  Chungnam, a province in Korea, had its first confirmed case of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) infection since February 2020. It has observed a rapid growth in infections that continue to cause shortages of hospital resources such as hospital beds in the region. This study was conducted to identify the risk factors affecting the severity of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) with the aim of better responding to future pandemics and more wisely and effectively allocating resources.
  Data came from both clinical records through healthcare facilities and primary epidemiological investigations in Chungnam, a province in Korea, during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data included 175 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 out of 189 confirmed cases from February 18 to July 27, 2020. Of the total confirmed patients, 78.5% were patients with mild symptoms while 21.5% were patients with moderate or severe symptoms. The underlying medical conditions were hypertension (41.0%), hyperlipidemia (17.9%), diabetes (12.8%), cancer (10.3%), other (7.7%), respiratory disease (5.1%), and thyroid disease (5.1%). The results from clinical records showed that the risks of moderate or severe levels of severity were 3.69 times higher among men, 12.3 times higher among patients over 65 years old, 14 times higher among patients with pneumonia, and 5.23 times higher among patients with underlying medical conditions. According to the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test from the epidemiological investigations, the mean cycle threshold (CT) values for the envelope (E) gene (rSARS-CoV-DeltaE) and the RdRp gene, the laboratory test for COVID-19, were statistically significantly lower in patients with moderate and severe symptoms than for those with mild symptoms. The average hospital stay among patients with mild symptoms and moderate and severe symptoms was 19.06 days and 24.32 days, respectively.
  Given that Chungnam has seen an increase in local outbreaks as of December 16, 2020 and that the number of patients who tested positive continues to rise, it is critical that epidemiologists consider the results of this study, particularly when developing classification criteria by severity.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2021-01-14

  0 317 177

  SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals

  Jung Rakyoung, Lee Hyosuk, Kwon Donghyok

  Public Health Weekly Report 2021; 14(3): 113-121

  

  

  Abstract

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  Epidemiologists face the daunting task of understanding what leads to the introduction of a new virus of animal origin, such as SARS CoV-2 the virus that caused coronavirus 19 (COVID-19), to the human population. Furthermore, unravelling how an infectious disease crosses the animal-human barrier, and vice-versa, is a major challenge. Although the risk of humans spreading COVID-19 to animals is considered rare, animals have been infected and more studies are needed on how different animals are affected by the virus. The aim of this study was to investigate reported cases of COVID-19 in animals. Although it is widely accepted that cats, dogs and other animals can be infected, scientist do not yet know the full range of animals that can be infected. Reports of animals being infected with the virus come from around the globe and multiple countries have reported that the virus has spread to animals and humans on mink farms. For example, there was a suspected case of mink to human transmission in the Netherlands. This study found that, as of November 20, 2020, there were 135 reported animal infection cases from 6 species, including dogs, cats, tigers, lions, puma and minks from 321 mink farms. In addition, 19 countries across 4 continents including Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and South Africa reported COVID-19 animal infections. This study concluded that the main transmission routes were from human-to-animal infection where pets tested positive after a household was confirmed as COVID-19 positive. The dogs and cats on the mink farms were assumed to be infected from the minks. For tigers, lions and puma, it was assumed that the animals were infected by zoo personnel, and that minks were infected by humans. Due to the multiple cases of suspected human-to-animal transmission, continuous monitoring is needed to understand the types of animals that are infected with COVID-19, the forms of inter-animal transmission, and the patterns of transmission from animals to human. This study concluded that continued investigation and monitoring is critical to establishing a more complete understanding of human-to-animal virus transmission.

• Noncommunicable Disease Statistics 2021-01-14

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  Trends in skipping breakfast among Korean people, 2007-2019

  Public Health Weekly Report 2021; 14(3): 122-123

  

  

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