The Korean Society of Infectious Diseases has been regularly developing guidelines for adult immunization since 2007. In 2023, the guidelines for the following seven vaccines were revised: influenza, herpes zoster, pneumococcal, tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal, and rabies vaccines. For the influenza vaccine, a recommendation for enhanced vaccines for the elderly was added. For the herpes zoster vaccine, a recommendation for the recombinant zoster vaccine was added. For the pneumococcal vaccine, the current status of the 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and 20-valent PCV was described. For the Tdap vaccine, the possibility of using Tdap instead of tetanus-diphtheria vaccine was described. For the HPV vaccine, the expansion of the eligible age for vaccination was described. For the meningococcal vaccine, a recommendation for the meningococcal B vaccine was added. For the rabies vaccine, the number of pre-exposure prophylaxis doses was changed. This manuscript documents the summary and rationale of the revisions for the seven vaccines. For the vaccines not mentioned in this manuscript, the recommendations in the 3rd edition of the Vaccinations for Adults textbook shall remain in effect.

Background: AML is a heterogeneous disease, and despite intensive therapy, recurrence is still high in AML patients who achieve the criterion for cytomorphologic remission (residual tumor burden [measurable residual disease, MRD]<5%). This study aimed to develop a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel to detect MRD in AML patients and validate its performance. Methods: We designed an error-corrected, targeted MRD-NGS panel without using physical molecular barcodes, including 24 genes. Fifty-four bone marrow and peripheral blood samples from 23 AML patients were sequenced using the panel. The panel design was validated using reference material, and accuracy was assessed using droplet digital PCR. Results: Dilution tests showed excellent linearity and a strong correlation between expected and observed clonal frequencies (R>0.99). The test reproducibly detected MRD in three dilution series samples, with a sensitivity of 0.25% for single-nucleotide variants. More than half of samples from patients with morphologic remission after one month of chemotherapy had detectable mutations. NGS-MRD positivity for samples collected after one month of chemotherapy tended to be associated with poor overall survival and progression-free survival. Conclusions Our highly sensitive and accurate NGS-MRD panel can be readily used to monitor most AML patients in clinical practice, including patients without gene rearrangement. In addition, this NGS-MRD panel may allow the detection of newly emerging clones during clinical relapse, leading to more reliable prognoses of AML.

Animals imported from abroad are a cause of rabies outbreaks in many countries. Therefore, rabies serology testing for dogs and cats traveling abroad is an important measure to reduce the incidence of rabies. Rabies virus antibodies were measured in sera collected from 2,367 dogs and 894 cats between 2017 and 2021. A serum sample with a value of 0.5 IU/mL or higher was considered a pass. The overall pass rates for rabies virus were 96.4% in dogs and 98.4% in cats. The mean rabies virus neutralization assay titers were higher in cats than in dogs and in female than in male animals. According to age, 6-year-old dogs and 9-year-old cats had the highest virus neutralization assay titers. Of the failure cases, 53.0% (53/100) were dogs or cats less than 1 year old. Although the average failure rates in dogs and cats were low at 3.5% and 1.6%, respectively, the factors influencing failure were age and vaccine manufacturer. Therefore, it is necessary to observe the vaccination interval and timing of blood collection after boosting.

Plant height is an important component of plant architecture and significantly affects crop breeding practices and yield. We studied DNA variations derived from F5 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) with 96.8% homozygous genotypes. Here, we report DNA variations between the normal and dwarf members of four lines harvested from a single seed parent in an F6 RIL population derived from a cross between Glycine max var. Peking and Glycine soja IT182936. Whole genome sequencing was carried out, and the DNA variations in the whole genome were compared between the normal and dwarf samples. We found a large number of DNA variations in both the dwarf and semi-dwarf lines, with one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) per at least 3.68 kb in the dwarf lines and 1 SNP per 11.13 kb of the whole genome. This value is 2.18 times higher than the expected DNA variation in the F6 population. A total of 186 SNPs and 241 SNPs were discovered in the coding regions of the dwarf lines 1282 and 1303, respectively, and we discovered 33 homogeneous nonsynonymous SNPs that occurred at the same loci in each set of dwarf and normal soybean. Of them, five SNPs were in the same positions between lines 1282 and 1303. Our results provide important information for improving our understanding of the genetics of soybean plant height and crop breeding. These polymorphisms could be useful genetic resources for plant breeders, geneticists, and biologists for future molecular biology and breeding projects.

Plant height is an important component of plant architecture and significantly affects crop breeding practices and yield. We studied DNA variations derived from F5 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) with 96.8% homozygous genotypes. Here, we report DNA variations between the normal and dwarf members of four lines harvested from a single seed parent in an F6 RIL population derived from a cross between Glycine max var. Peking and Glycine soja IT182936. Whole genome sequencing was carried out, and the DNA variations in the whole genome were compared between the normal and dwarf samples. We found a large number of DNA variations in both the dwarf and semi-dwarf lines, with one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) per at least 3.68 kb in the dwarf lines and 1 SNP per 11.13 kb of the whole genome. This value is 2.18 times higher than the expected DNA variation in the F6 population. A total of 186 SNPs and 241 SNPs were discovered in the coding regions of the dwarf lines 1282 and 1303, respectively, and we discovered 33 homogeneous nonsynonymous SNPs that occurred at the same loci in each set of dwarf and normal soybean. Of them, five SNPs were in the same positions between lines 1282 and 1303. Our results provide important information for improving our understanding of the genetics of soybean plant height and crop breeding. These polymorphisms could be useful genetic resources for plant breeders, geneticists, and biologists for future molecular biology and breeding projects.

BACKGROUND: Online health information can influence consumers to make informed decisions. There are conflicting messages online about health concerns on the use of e-cigarettes. We aimed to investigate differences in those messages through Naver and Google's English versions, which are the most representative portal sites in Korea and in the world. METHODS: We reviewed the top 100 web pages related to health effects of e-cigarettes on Naver and Google in May 2018. Two medical doctors sorted the web pages into three groups as positive, negative, and mixed messages for e-cigarettes, as well as two groups based on the relative safety of conventional smoking versus e-cigarettes. RESULTS: There were 10 and 27 positive, 65 and 45 negative, and 25 and 28 mixed messages on Naver and Google, respectively. There were 15 messages on Naver and 53 on Google that considered e-cigarettes safer than conventional cigarettes. The most frequent topics were toxicity (71%) and diseases (22%) on Naver. Google provides topics of health concerns for young people, including gateway effect (47%), diseases (35%), and toxicity (25%). Particularly, harm reduction which was not present on Naver, came up on Google as 24%. CONCLUSIONS: We found that Naver provides more negative messages on e-cigarettes than does Google, which means that Koreans are exposed more to negative information on e-cigarettes than are foreign people who use Google. In future, more open discussions about harm reduction should be conducted to resolve the imbalance in information regarding health effects of e-cigarettes in Korea.
Electronic Cigarettes ; Harm Reduction ; Internet ; Korea ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation ; Tobacco Products

BACKGROUND: Online health information can influence consumers to make informed decisions. There are conflicting messages online about health concerns on the use of e-cigarettes. We aimed to investigate differences in those messages through Naver and Google's English versions, which are the most representative portal sites in Korea and in the world. METHODS: We reviewed the top 100 web pages related to health effects of e-cigarettes on Naver and Google in May 2018. Two medical doctors sorted the web pages into three groups as positive, negative, and mixed messages for e-cigarettes, as well as two groups based on the relative safety of conventional smoking versus e-cigarettes. RESULTS: There were 10 and 27 positive, 65 and 45 negative, and 25 and 28 mixed messages on Naver and Google, respectively. There were 15 messages on Naver and 53 on Google that considered e-cigarettes safer than conventional cigarettes. The most frequent topics were toxicity (71%) and diseases (22%) on Naver. Google provides topics of health concerns for young people, including gateway effect (47%), diseases (35%), and toxicity (25%). Particularly, harm reduction which was not present on Naver, came up on Google as 24%. CONCLUSIONS We found that Naver provides more negative messages on e-cigarettes than does Google, which means that Koreans are exposed more to negative information on e-cigarettes than are foreign people who use Google. In future, more open discussions about harm reduction should be conducted to resolve the imbalance in information regarding health effects of e-cigarettes in Korea.

Since 2013, the Hospital-based Influenza Morbidity and Mortality (HIMM) surveillance system began a H7N9 influenza surveillance scheme for returning travelers in addition to pre-existing emergency room (ER)-based influenza-like illness (ILI) surveillance and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) surveillance. Although limited to eastern China, avian A/H7N9 influenza virus is considered to have the highest pandemic potential among currently circulating influenza viruses. During the study period between October 1st, 2013 and April 30th, 2016, 11 cases presented with ILI within seven days of travel return. These patients visited China, Hong Kong, or neighboring Southeast Asian countries, but none of them visited a livestock market. Seasonal influenza virus (54.5%, 6 among 11) was the most common cause of ILI among returning travelers, and avian A/H7N9 influenza virus was not detected during the study period.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; China ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hong Kong ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H7N9 Subtype ; Influenza, Human ; Livestock ; Mortality ; Orthomyxoviridae ; Pandemics ; Seasons

BACKGROUND: Efforts for improving surgical outcomes in elderly patients should include the prevention of perioperative complications and proper postoperative pain management. Epidural analgesia is effective in decreasing perioperative stress and postoperative complications, and in improving recovery. Recently, it has been suggested that epidural analgesia may attenuate immune suppression during the perioperative period and lead to reductions in cancer recurrence and improvements in overall survival. Assuming that these effects of epidural analgesia are present in vulnerable elderly patients, we compared the efficacy of epidural patient-controlled analgesia and intravenous patientcontrolled analgesia on postoperative outcomes in elderly patients who had undergone gastrectomy. METHODS: We evaluated 214 elderly patients who had undergone elective open gastrectomy for gastric cancer from 2011 to 2014. The demographic characteristics, analgesic efficacy, complications within the first 30 postoperative days, hospital stay, 24-month postoperative morbidity, cancer recurrence, and mortality were studied retrospectively. RESULTS: Two-hundred and five patients were analyzed. Eighty-five patients received epidural patient-controlled analgesia (EPCA group) and 120 patients received intravenous patient- controlled analgesia (IVPCA group). The maximum pain scores were decreased to a greater extent in the EPCA group on the day of the operation (P < 0.001) and on the first postoperative day (P = 0.001) when compared to the IVPCA group. The patients in the EPCA group also required less analgesics on the day of the operation (P = 0.033) than those in the IVPCA group. The effect of EPCA on complications within the first 30 postoperative days, 24-month postoperative morbidity, cancer recurrence, and mortality were negligible in our study. CONCLUSIONS: EPCA provided more effective pain control than IVPCA in elderly patients who had undergone elective gastric cancer surgery, but did not affect postoperative outcomes.
Aged* ; Analgesia ; Analgesia, Epidural ; Analgesia, Patient-Controlled* ; Analgesics ; Gastrectomy* ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Mortality ; Pain, Postoperative ; Perioperative Period ; Postoperative Complications ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies* ; Stomach Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: Efforts for improving surgical outcomes in elderly patients should include the prevention of perioperative complications and proper postoperative pain management. Epidural analgesia is effective in decreasing perioperative stress and postoperative complications, and in improving recovery. Recently, it has been suggested that epidural analgesia may attenuate immune suppression during the perioperative period and lead to reductions in cancer recurrence and improvements in overall survival. Assuming that these effects of epidural analgesia are present in vulnerable elderly patients, we compared the efficacy of epidural patient-controlled analgesia and intravenous patientcontrolled analgesia on postoperative outcomes in elderly patients who had undergone gastrectomy. METHODS: We evaluated 214 elderly patients who had undergone elective open gastrectomy for gastric cancer from 2011 to 2014. The demographic characteristics, analgesic efficacy, complications within the first 30 postoperative days, hospital stay, 24-month postoperative morbidity, cancer recurrence, and mortality were studied retrospectively. RESULTS: Two-hundred and five patients were analyzed. Eighty-five patients received epidural patient-controlled analgesia (EPCA group) and 120 patients received intravenous patient- controlled analgesia (IVPCA group). The maximum pain scores were decreased to a greater extent in the EPCA group on the day of the operation (P < 0.001) and on the first postoperative day (P = 0.001) when compared to the IVPCA group. The patients in the EPCA group also required less analgesics on the day of the operation (P = 0.033) than those in the IVPCA group. The effect of EPCA on complications within the first 30 postoperative days, 24-month postoperative morbidity, cancer recurrence, and mortality were negligible in our study. CONCLUSIONS: EPCA provided more effective pain control than IVPCA in elderly patients who had undergone elective gastric cancer surgery, but did not affect postoperative outcomes.
Aged* ; Analgesia ; Analgesia, Epidural ; Analgesia, Patient-Controlled* ; Analgesics ; Gastrectomy* ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Mortality ; Pain, Postoperative ; Perioperative Period ; Postoperative Complications ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies* ; Stomach Neoplasms