Young June Choe

After implementation of social distancing for SARS-CoV-2 in South Korea, rates of detection of enveloped respiratory viruses decreased significantly, whereas nonenveloped viruses persisted, suggesting that enhanced infection prevention strategies are required to mitigate spread of these viruses.

최근 양적 연구 방법과 질적 연구 방법에서 눈부신 발전을 이루어왔지만, 여전히 두 방법론이 충분히 다루지 못하는 사각지대가 존재해왔다. 소수보다는 많고 다수는 아닌 사례 수를 가진 연구의 경우 기존 연구방법론을 적용하는 데 한계를 보여 왔다. 이에 대한 대안으로 퍼지셋 이론의 사회과학적 활용이 지난 10년간 도입 및 발전이 되어오고 있다. 본 논문에서는 퍼지셋 분석의 기본적 원리를 소개하고 실제 적용사례를 통하여 이해를 도모하는 데에 목적을 두고 있다. 특히 사회과학에서 핵심적으로 사용되고 있는 퍼지 이상형 분석(fuzzy-set ideal type analysis)과 퍼지셋 질적 비교 분석(Fuzzy-set/qualitative comparative analysis)을 연구사례를 활용하여 소개한다. 마지막으로는 퍼지셋이 사회과학에서 어떻게 유용하게 사용될 수 있을지와 어떠한 한계점들이 있을 수 있는지에 대해서 간략하게 논의한다. 결론적으로 여전히 이론과 방법론적 측면에서 세밀하게

This study aimed to describe the differences in vaccination coverage between National Immunization Program (NIP) vaccines and non-NIP vaccines in Korea and to identify factors affecting the difference. Nationwide face-to-face interview-based questionnaire survey among randomly selected 4,374 participants aged 7-83 months was conducted. Vaccination coverage analyzed according to the birth cohorts, geographic areas, and socio-demographic characteristics. We found that NIP vaccines recorded higher

In the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, we aimed to systematically address the global seasonal patterns of human coronavirus (HCoV) infections. We identified relevant articles from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL Plus as of May 11, 2020. The main outcomes were the peak months of HCoV infections each year and the months during which more than 5% of positive respiratory specimen tests were attributable to HCoV. Of 707 articles reviewed, 22 met the inclusion criteria. The annual percen

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is now recognized as a common cause of foodborne outbreaks. This study aimed to describe the first ETEC O169 outbreak identified in Korea. In this outbreak, we identified 1642 cases from seven schools. Retrospective cohort studies were performed in two schools; and case-control studies were conducted in five schools. In two schools, radish kimchi was associated with illness; and in five other schools, radish or cabbage kimchi was found to have a higher ris

International travel was associated with the incidence of imported infectious diseases in Korea. Pre-travel consultation for international travelers planned to visit endemic area should be recommended strongly.

During 2010-2011, a shift in age group was observed in pertussis case-patients: 33.8% were young infants <3 months of age and 29.0% were adolescents and adults ≥15 years of age. Considering that infants without timely vaccination may be vulnerable to an increased risk of pertussis infection, steps to provide timely vaccination to infants, to provide Tdap vaccination to adolescents and adults, and to enhance surveillance to capture adult pertussis cases should be taken in South Korea.

We used national statistics from 1983-2015 to evaluate trends in mortality caused by infectious diseases in South Korea. Age-standardized mortality from infectious disease decreased from 43.5/100,000 population in 1983 to 16.5/100,000 in 1996, and then increased to 44.6/100,000 in 2015. Tuberculosis was the most common cause of death in 1983 and respiratory tract infections in 2015. We observed a significant decline in infant deaths caused by infectious diseases, but mortality in persons age >65

While vaccination remains the cornerstone of controlling vaccine-preventive diseases (VPD), little is known about the effect of social distancing on incidence of VPDs. We investigated the impact of social distancing practiced during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the incidence of selected VPDs in South Korea. National surveillance data on monthly incidence of hepatitis A, hepatitis B, varicella, mumps, invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), and pertussis were retrieved and com

We describe the global status of measles control and elimination, including surveillance and vaccination coverage data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since 2000, two doses of measles vaccine (MCV2) became recommended globally and the achievement of high vaccination coverage has led to dramatic decrease in the measles incidence. Our finding indicates that, in the Western Pacific Region (WPR), substantial progress has been made to control measles transmission in some countries; h