In this pandemic situation caused by a novel coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19), an electronic support system that can rapidly and accurately perform epidemic investigations, is needed. It would systematically secure and analyze patients’ data (who have been confirmed to have the infection), location information, and credit card usage.
The “Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act” in South Korea, established a legal basis for the securement, handling procedure, and disclosure of information required for epidemic investigations. The Epidemic Investigation Support System (EISS) was developed as an application platform on the Smart City data platform.
The EISS performed the function of inter-institutional communication which reduced the processing period of patients’ data in comparison to other methods. This system automatically marked confirmed cases’ tracking data on a map and hot-spot analysis which lead to the prediction of areas where people may be vulnerable to infection.
The EISS was designed and implemented for use during an epidemic investigation to prevent the spread of an infectious disease, by specifically tracking confirmed cases of infection.
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In the epidemiological investigation of an infectious disease, investigating, classifying, tracking, and managing contacts by identifying the patient’s route are important for preventing further transmission of the disease. However, omissions and errors in previous activities can occur when the investigation is performed through only a proxy interview with the patient. To overcome these limitations, methods that can objectively verify the patient’s claims (medical facility records, Global Positioning System, card transactions, and closed-circuit television) were used for the recent ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 contact investigations in South Korea.
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Awareness of Health Professionals on COVID-19 and Factors Affecting It Before and During Index Case in North Shoa Zone, Ethiopia, 2020
Intensive Care Unit Capacity and Its Associated Risk Factors During the COVID-19 Surge in the Republic of Korea: Analysis Using Nationwide Health Claims Data
The 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in Korea caused major economic and social problems. The control intervention was conducted during the MERS-CoV outbreak in Korea immediately after the confirmation of the index case. This study investigates whether the early risk communication with the general public and mass media is an effective preventive strategy.
The SEIR (Susceptible, Exposed, Infectious, Recovered) model with estimated parameters for the time series data of the daily MERS-CoV incidence in Korea was considered from May to December 2015. For 10,000 stochastic simulations, the SEIR model was computed using the Gillespie algorithm. Depending on the time of control intervention on the 20th, 40th, and 60th days after the identification of the index case, the box plots of MERS-CoV incidences in Korea were computed, and the results were analyzed via ANOVA.
The box plots showed that there was a significant difference between the non-intervention and intervention groups (the 20th day, 40th day, and 60th day groups) and seemed to show no significant difference based on the time of intervention. However, the ANOVA revealed that early intervention was a good strategy to control the disease.
Appropriate risk communication can secure the confidence of the general public in the public health authorities.
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The objective of this review is to propose an appropriate course of action for improving the guidelines followed by food handlers for control of infection. For this purpose, previous epidemiological reports related to acute gastroenteritis in food service businesses mediated by food handlers were intensively analyzed.
Relevant studies were identified in international databases. We selected eligible papers reporting foodborne infectious disease outbreaks. Among primary literature collection, the abstract of each article was investigated to find cases that absolutely identified a causative factor to be food handlers’ inappropriate infection control and the taxon of causative microbial agents by epidemiological methodologies. Information about the sites (type of food business) where the outbreaks occurred was investigated.
A wide variety of causative microbial agents has been investigated, using several epidemiological methods. These agents have shown diverse propagation pathways based on their own molecular pathogenesis, physiology, taxonomy, and etiology.
Depending on etiology, transmission, propagation, and microbiological traits, we can predict the transmission characteristics of pathogens in food preparation areas. The infected food workers have a somewhat different ecological place in infection epidemiology as compared to the general population. However, the current Korean Food Safety Act cannot propose detailed guidelines. Therefore, different methodologies have to be made available to prevent further infections.
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