PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

Vol.18 No.3, January 16, 2025 Article TypeQuickStatsSurveillance Reports

• Surveillance Reports 2025-01-16

  0 465 47

  Analysis of Antimicrobial Resistance Trends and Characteristics of Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolated in the Republic of Korea from 2018 to 2023

  SeongJae Joo , Min Kyeong Kim , Ae Kyung Park , Junyoung Kim , Jaeil Yoo *

  Public Health Weekly Report 2025; 18(3): 105-120 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2025.18.3.1

  

  

  Abstract

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  Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections, with limited options for antimicrobial treatment. Resistance genes and their pathogenicity can be transmitted via transposons, making infection control crucial. In this study, we analyzed the antibiotic resistance trends and pathogenic characteristics of 179 Enterococcus faecium strains, which accounted for 78.5% of the 228 VRE strains collected from the epidemic intelligence division integrated system between 2018 and 2023. The analysis revealed that all strains were resistant to vancomycin, levofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin, but susceptible to linezolid and chloramphenicol. All 179 strains possessed the vanA gene. Among these, 55 strains (30.7%) exhibited the VanB phenotype and showed intermediate resistance or susceptibility to teicoplanin. As a result of virulence factor analysis, 155 strains (86.6%) were confirmed to possess both esp and hyl genes. Multilocus sequence typing analysis revealed ST17 (48.1%) and ST192 (11.1%) as the predominant sequence types, consistent with the global distribution patterns of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium (VREfm). This study provides critical insights into the antibiotic resistance trends and genetic characteristics of VREfm in the Republic of Korea, offering a foundation for antibiotic resistance prevention and infection control efforts.

• Surveillance Reports 2025-01-16

  0 188 19

  2022 Injury Status of Inpatients in the Republic of Korea

  Kyunghae Wang , Sohyun Park , Mini Jo , Jungeun Lee , Eunhee Jeon *

  Public Health Weekly Report 2025; 18(3): 121-136 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2025.18.3.2

  

  

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  Injury is one of the leading causes of death in the Republic of Korea (ROK), alongside cancer and heart disease, accounting for 27,812 deaths in 2023 (7.9% of all deaths). This article aims to identify the scale and changing patterns of injury cases in ROK, analyze their epidemiological characteristics from from the Korea National Hospital Discharge In-depth Injury Survey in 2022. In 2022, the discharge rate of injured patients was 2,212 per 100,000 people and included 2,272 males and 2,153 females. Among individuals aged 65 years and older, females had a higher discharge rate than males. The average length of hospital stay for injured patients was 12.6 days, which is longer than the overall average for hospitalized patients (7.8 days), with an increase in hospital stay duration corresponding to an increase in age. The leading mechanisms of injury in injury-related discharges were slips and falls (1,070 per 100,000 population), traffic accidents (477), and collisions (239). Traffic accident-related injuries declined from 801 in 2012 to 477 in 2022, whereas injuries caused by slips and falls increased from 730 to 1,070 during the same period. The most common locations for injury occurrence were roads and highways (26.7%) and residential areas (20.1%). Males had a notably higher proportion of injuries at industrial and construction sites. Intentional self-harm showed an increasing trend among adolescents (ages 13–18 years) and individuals aged 65 and older. In adolescents, the discharge rate for cases of self-harm rose by 128.6%, with the rate for female adolescents being 3.2 times higher than that of their male counterparts.

• Surveillance Reports 2025-01-16

  1 879 91

  Characteristics and Trends of Tuberculosis Deaths in 2023: An Analysis of Cause-of-death Statistics from Statistics Korea

  Hyewon Lee , Jinsun Kim , Jieun Kim , Young-joon Park

  Public Health Weekly Report 2025; 18(3): 137-154 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2025.18.3.3

  

  

  Abstract

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  Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and curable disease. Republic of Korea has designated TB as a second-class legal infectious disease and has managed patients with TB in the national TB surveillance system. According to Statistics Korea’s cause-of-death statistics for October 2024, the number of TB deaths in 2023 was 1,331 (2.6 people per 100,000 population), an increase of 0.7% (n=9) from the previous year (n=1,322, 2.6 people per 100,000 population). The decline in the number of TB deaths appears to have plateaued in 2023, with a slight increase of 0.7% compared to the previous year. Since exceeding 80.0% in 2016, the proportion of total TB deaths among adults aged 65 years and older has accounted for 87.2%. Therefore, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency continues to promote prevention and screening projects for adults aged 65 years and older, and we are implementing a customized TB management project so that patients with TB are managed with medication during the entire TB treatment period from June 2024. We plan to continue to promote strengthened TB policies across the entire TB control cycle (prevention–diagnosis–treatment) to improve the treatment success rate for patients with TB, reduce mortality due to TB, and further accelerate eradication of the disease.

• QuickStats 2025-01-16

  0 88 26

  Ratio of Nutrient Intake to Dietary Reference Intakes by Nutrient, 2023

  Public Health Weekly Report 2025; 18(3): 155-156 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2025.18.3.4

  

  

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