• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.39-42
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• 2019

While the notified crude incidence rates(per 100,000 persons, CIR) of new tuberculosis between 2016 and 2017 decreased in nationwide and 16 provinces, except Jeju Province, Korea. The aim of this study was to compare CIRs of Jeju Province and nationwide by calendar years and age groups in order to interpret the increasing trend of CIR in Jeju Province. The data source was the Integrated Diseases and Health Control System of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The selection criteria were the notified new cases as tuberculosis, who had the address as Jeju Province at diagnosis, between 2011 and 2018. The 95% confidence interval of CIR was estimated based on Poisson distribution. There was not statistically significant difference of CIRs between Nationwide and Jeju Province of 2011 and 2018, except 2016. Especially the CIR of group aged over 65 years in Jeju Province, 2016 was significantly lower compared to Nationwide CIR. But, the CIR of group aged 30~50 between 2017 and 2018 showed significantly higher compared to Nationwide CIR. Based on the results, the fact of increasing CIR from 2016 to 2017 in Jeju Province might be interpreted as an introduction of new tuberculosis screening project rather than real increased CIRs.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.219-224
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• 2008

Due to heightened concerns regarding possible bioterrorist attacks, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention introduced syndromic surveillance systems, which have been run by emergency departments in hospitals throughout Korea since 2002. These systems are designed to identify illness clusters before diagnoses are confirmed and reported to public health agencies, to mobilize a rapid response, and thereby to reduce morbidity and mortality. The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention performed drop-in syndromic surveillance successfully during the World Cup Football Games in 2002, the Universiad games in 2004, and the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in 2005. In addition, sustainable syndromic surveillance system involving the collaborative efforts of 125 sentinel hospitals has been in operation nationwide since 2002. Because active data collection can bias decisions a physician makes, there is a need to generate an automatic and passive data collection system. Therefore, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention plans to establish computerized automatic data collection systems in the near future. These systems will be used not only fur the early detection of bioterrorism but also for more effective public health responses to disease.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.130-140
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• 1999

Objectives: This study was carried out to estimate the magnitude of skin disease related to occupation and to find out the characteristics of it. Methods: We collected and analyzed the cases of occupational skin disease reported by surveillance system composed of doctors and nurses in 150 enterprises with dispensary or attacked hospital and physicians in 92 specific health examination institutes and 150 dermatologists from May to November, 1998. Results: Among members of surveillance system, 66 enterprises and 47 specific health examination institutes and 55 dermatologists reported 571 cases of occupational skin disease in 512 workers. Excepting 81 cases reported by dermatologists, We analyzed 490 cases reported by enterprises and specific health examination institutes. Among 490 cases, contact dermatitis was most common(368 cases, 75.1%) and the second was hyper or hypopigmentation(36 cases, 7.3%). When we analyzed the characteristics of workers with occupational contact dermatitis, male workers were 281 (79.2%) and female were 74(20.8%). 165 workers(64.5%) had chronic skin disease with repeated cure and relapse. 245 workers(72.5%) answered positively that their coworkers had similar skin disease. 27 workers(8.7%) experienced absence due to contact dermatitis related to occupation. To analyze the type of industries of workers with occupational contact dermatitis, automobile and trailer manufacturing industry was most common(105 cases, 29.6%) and the second was manufacturing industry for image, sound and communication equipment(55 cases, 15.5%). Organic solvent(183 cases, 46.7%) was the most common treating material of workers with contact dermatitis and the second was various kinds of chemicals(59cases, 15.1%). Conclusions: This is the first study using nationwide surveillance system to collect data of occupational skin disease. We found that many workers had skin disease related to occupation and characteristics of occupational skin disease were chronic and clustering. Therefore, we had to establish counterplan to manage occupational skin disease and to operate surveillance system to identify trends of occupational skin disease, continuously.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.146-151
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• 2017

Six major outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) occurred from 2003 to 2016 in Korea. Epidemiological investigations of each outbreak revealed that migratory birds were the primary source of the HPAI virus. During the last five years, the geographic transmission pattern of domestic HPAI seems to have extended from local to nationwide; therefore, it is necessary to identify specific locations in which poultry farms are at elevated risk for HPAI outbreak to enable targeted surveillance and other mitigation strategies. Here, a geographical information system (GIS)-based analysis was used to identify geographic areas at high risk for future HPAI incidents in Korea based on historical outbreak data collected between December 2003 and April 2016. To accomplish this, seven criteria were used to identify areas at high-risk for HPAI occurrence. The first three criteria were based on defined spatial criteria buffering of 200 bird migration sites to some defined extents and the historical incidence of HPAI outbreaks at the buffering sites. The remaining criteria were based on combined attribute information such as number of birds or farms at district levels. Based on the criteria established for this study, the most-likely areas at higher risk for HPAI outbreak were located in Chungcheong, Jeolla, Gyeonggi, and Gyeongnam provinces, which are densely populated poultry regions considered major poultry-production areas that are located along bird migration sites. The proportion of areas at risk for HPAI occurrence ranged from 4.5% to 64.9%. For the worst criteria, all nine provinces, including Jeju Island, were found to be at risk of HPAI. The results of this study indicate that the number of poultry farms at risk for HPAI outbreaks is largely underestimated by current regulatory risk assessment procedures conducted for biosecurity authorization. The HPAI risk map generated in this study will enable easy use of information by policy makers to identify surveillance zones and employ targeted surveillance to reduce the impact of HPAI transmission.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.53-59
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• 2020

Jeju Province has unique geographical and climatologic characteristics compared with other areas in Korea. Thus it needs to evaluate the status of nationwide notifiable infectious diseases(NND) continuously. The aim was to conduct a descriptive study for NNDs in Jeju Province, 2001~2019. The source of data was on the Infectious Disease Statistics System operated by Centers for Diseases Control & Prevention in Korea between 1 September 2001 and 31 August 2019. When calculating the proportion of the sum of years showing a higher incidence in Jeju province than nationwide divided by the sum of comparing years, the NDD with the proportion of the sum of years over 75% in 2001~2019 included varicella and syphilis. The results support significant evidence to plan strategies and distribute community resources for the control and prevention of NND in Jeju Province, Korea.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.79-83
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• 2018

Jejudo has unique geographical and climatologic characteristics compared with other areas in Korea. The aim was to evaluate differences of the nationwide notifiable infectious diseases (NND) occurred in Jejudo, 2011~2018. The source of data was on the Infectious Disease Statistics System operated by Centers for Diseases Control & Prevention in Korea between 1 January 2001 and 30 September 2018. After calculating the proportion of sum of years showing a higher incidence in Jejudo than nationwide divided by sum of comparing years(PSYH), authors defined the infectious diseases for control in Jejudo (IDCJ) with PSYH over 75%. In addition, the infectious diseases showing increasing trends during recent 2 years(2015~2018) were defined as sudden increase Infectious diseases for control (SIDCJ). IDCJ in 2001~2018 included 3 NNDs such as chicken pox, syphilis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The results support main evidences to plan strategies and distribute community resources for control and prevention of NNDs in Jejudo, Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.76-82
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• 2000

Objectives : We attempted to assess He accuracy of ICD codes for cerebrovascular diseases in medical insurance claims (ICMIC) and to investigate the reasons for error. This study was designed as a preliminary study to establish a nationwide surveillance system. Methods : A total of 626 patients with medical insurance claims who indicated a diagnosis of cerebrovascular diseases during the period from 1993 to 1997 was selected from the Korea Medical Insurance Corporation cohort (KMIC cohort: 115,600 persons). The KMIC cohort was 10% of those insured who had taken health examinations in 1990 and 1992 consecutively. The registered medical record administrators were trained in the survey technique and gathered data from March to May 1999. The definition of cerebrovascular diseases in this study included cases which met ore of two criteria (Minnesota, WHO) or 'definite stroke' in CT/MRI finding. We questioned the medical record administrators to explain the error if the final diagnoses were not coded as stroke. Results : The accuracy rate of the ICMIC was 83.0% (425 cases) Medical records were not available for 8.2% (51 cases) due to the closing of hospitals, the absence of a computer system or omission of medical record, etc. Sixty-three cases (10.0%) were classified as impossible to interpret due to insufficient records in 'major clinical symptoms' or 'neurological deficits'. The most common reason was 'to meet review criteria of medical insurance benefits (52.9%)'. The department where errors in the ICMIC occurred most frequently was the department for medical insurance claims in the hospital. Conclusion : The accuracy rate of the ICMIC was 83.0%.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.3687-3696
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• 2016

Cancer registration, an important component of cancer surveillance, is essential to a unified, scientific and public health approach to cancer prevention and control. India has one of the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the world. A good surveillance system in the form of cancer registries is important for planning and evaluating cancer-control activities. Cancer registration in India was initiated in 1964 and expanded since 1982, through initiation of the National Cancer Registry Program (NCRP) by the Indian Council of Medical Research. NCRP currently has twenty-six population based registries and seven hospital based registries. Yet, Indian cancer registries, mostly in urban areas, cover less than 15% of the population. Other potential concerns about some Indian registries include accuracy and detail of information on cancer diagnosis, and timeliness in updating the registry databases. It is also important that necessary data collection related quality assurance measures be undertaken rigorously by the registries to ensure reliable and valid information availability. This paper reviews the current status of cancer registration in India and discusses some of the important pitfalls and issues related to cancer registration. Cancer registration in India should be complemented with a nationwide effort to foster systematic investigations of cancer patterns and trends by states, regions and sub populations and allow a continuous cycle of measurement, communication and action.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.9
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• pp.443-458
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• 2021

In Korea, several national cross-sectional surveys monitor the diet, nutritional status, and health status of children. This continual dedicated national surveillance system contributes to the identification of nutritional and health issues, establishment of public health policies, and development of nutrition recommendations. This paper provides recent information about the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey and describes key nationwide survey findings published in the last 5 years on infant feeding practices and the dietary intake and nutritional status of Korean infants, children, and adolescents. There have been increasing trends in children, and teenagers who skip breakfast, eat fast food, consume sugary drinks, have vitamin D deficiency, and are obese. This review will inform pediatricians, nutritionists, and other health care practitioners who track children's growth and development. It may also help researchers and policymakers identify diet-related policies and strategies for chronic disease prevention in Korean infants, children, and adolescents.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.45-60
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to understand the status of reporting and characteristics of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) induced by herbal drugs and to make a suggestion for the domestic pharmacovigilance system on herbal medicine. Methods: We carried out a hospital-based observational study at Dongguk University Ilsan Oriental Hospital from April 2012 to December 2014. We reviewed all the herbal-drug-associated ADRs reports registered to the spontaneous ADR reporting system in electronic medical records of the hospital in the period. Results: We found out 101 reports including 163 herbal-drug-associated ADRs from 97 patients. Females (69.3%) outnumbered males and the most frequent age group was the 50s (44, 27.0%). No serious adverse event was observed. The most commonly reported ADR was gastro-intestinal system disorders (68, 41.5%) followed by skin-related disorders (42, 25.8%). Diarrhea (29, 17.8%) was the most frequently referred clinical manifestation. Most ADRs were induced by internal medicines (160, 98.2%) including manufactured (36, 22.1%) and self-prepared decoction (160, 76.1%). The pairs of Igi-hwan-diarrhea, gamiboa-tang-vomiting, and Magnoliae Flos-gastro-intestinal-system-related ADRs were observed twice each and the others appeared only once. Conclusions: We propose Korean government to take an initiative in national pharmacovigilance system for herbal medicine. To perform the surveillance on herbal drugs, the Association of Korean Medicine (AKOM) should set up a nationwide network by designating centers connecting the Korean medical hospitals, local Korean medicine clinics, and the public health centers. The government and AKOM should also educate and encourage them to understand the pharmacovigilance system and report the ADRs actively.