To discuss whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), World Health Organization (WHO) organized the 15-member International Health Regulations Emergency Committee (EC). On January 22-23 and January 30, 2020, EC convened and discussed whether the situation in China and other countries would constitute PHEIC and issued recommendations for WHO, China and the international community. Based on the recommendations of EC, WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a PHEIC. One of the purposes of the declaration of PHEIC was to alarm countries with weak public health infrastructures to prepare promptly for emerging infectious diseases (EID) and provide WHO with a framework for proactively supporting those countries. On February 3, 2020, WHO proposed the 2019 COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, which includes accelerating research and development (R&D) processes as one of three major strategies. On February 11-12, 2020, WHO held the Global Research and Innovation Forum: Towards a Research Roadmap for COVID-19. The fact that a COVID-19 R&D forum was the first meeting convened after the PHEIC declaration testifies to the importance of R&D in response to EID. Korea has demonstrated a remarkable capacity in its laboratory response by conducting high-throughput COVID-19 testing and utilizing innovative drive-through samplings. These measures for early detection and screening of cases should be followed by full efforts to produce research-based evidence by thoroughly analyzing epidemiological, clinical and immunological data, which will facilitate the development of vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19. It is expected that Korea plays a global partner for COVID-19 research by actively participating in immediate and mid/long-term priorities jointly led by WHO and global partners.

To discuss whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), World Health Organization (WHO) organized the 15-member International Health Regulations Emergency Committee (EC). On January 22-23 and January 30, 2020, EC convened and discussed whether the situation in China and other countries would constitute PHEIC and issued recommendations for WHO, China and the international community. Based on the recommendations of EC, WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a PHEIC. One of the purposes of the declaration of PHEIC was to alarm countries with weak public health infrastructures to prepare promptly for emerging infectious diseases (EID) and provide WHO with a framework for proactively supporting those countries. On February 3, 2020, WHO proposed the 2019 COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, which includes accelerating research and development (R&D) processes as one of three major strategies. On February 11-12, 2020, WHO held the Global Research and Innovation Forum: Towards a Research Roadmap for COVID-19. The fact that a COVID-19 R&D forum was the first meeting convened after the PHEIC declaration testifies to the importance of R&D in response to EID. Korea has demonstrated a remarkable capacity in its laboratory response by conducting high-throughput COVID-19 testing and utilizing innovative drive-through samplings. These measures for early detection and screening of cases should be followed by full efforts to produce research-based evidence by thoroughly analyzing epidemiological, clinical and immunological data, which will facilitate the development of vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19. It is expected that Korea plays a global partner for COVID-19 research by actively participating in immediate and mid/long-term priorities jointly led by WHO and global partners.

No abstract available.
Gangwon-do* ; Humans

The 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in the Republic of Korea, which started with an imported case and spread throughout the country with a total of 186 cases, revealed the vulnerabilities of the health-care system of the country. The situation was compounded by the unique health-care settings in the Republic of Korea, including crowded emergency departments and large numbers of hospital visitors seeking care at multiple hospitals. To assist with the outbreak response, the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea hosted several international joint missions that provided valuable information and recommendations for MERS control and prevention of future outbreaks. This report briefly summarizes the missions’ outcomes and discusses their positive impacts.

No abstract available.
Gangwon-do* ; Humans ; Norovirus* ; Sequence Analysis*

We examined the hepatitis G virus infections among 227 Koreans who were healthy or were suspected of hepatitis and determined the phylogenetic relationship based on a part of the NS-5 region of 5 positive samples. Viral RNA was extracted from sera and cDNA was synthesized and subsequently amplified by RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) or RT-nested PCR using random hexamer and NS-5 specific primers (470-20-1-77F, 470-20-1-211R, HGVNESTFO, HGVNESTRE). Five positives were found to belong to samples of patients showing symptoms of viral hepatitis. Primers used for PCR or nested PCR were derived from the NS-5 region. On the other hand, no amplification was detected using primers derived from the 5'-NCR (G-146F, G-401R). We performed TA cloning and sequencing of 5 amplified fragments, and their sequences were compared with those of foreign isolates of HGV. The phylogenetic analysis using MegAlign programme of DNAstar has shown that the Korean isolates are clustered on the phylogenetic tree. In summary, we confirmed the hepatitis G virus infection in 5 cases out of 12 patients showing the symptoms of viral hepatitis. The phylogenetic analysis of sequences of 5 amplified fragments showed that their relations to each other were closer than those to the foreign HGV isolates reported.
Clone Cells ; Cloning, Organism ; DNA, Complementary ; GB virus C* ; Hand ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Korea* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Viral

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; however, the measles virus continues to circulate, causing outbreaks. The Republic of Korea (ROK) experienced a series of resurgence of measles due to the importation and healthcare-associated transmission in infants, however overall incidence and surveillance indicators met the WHO criteria for measles elimination. The ROK was verified to be measles-free along with Australia, Mongolia, and Macau, China in 2014. One of the effective elimination activities was the establishment of solid keep-up vaccination system in school settings. The lessons learnt from the measles elimination activities in Korea may contribute to enhancing the surveillance schemes and strengthening of vaccination programs in member countries and areas of WPR.
Disease Eradication/methods/*organization & administration ; Government Programs/organization & administration ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mass Vaccination/*organization & administration ; Measles/diagnosis/*epidemiology/*prevention & control ; Measles Vaccine/*administration & dosage ; Pacific Ocean ; Population Surveillance/*methods ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; School Health Services/organization & administration ; Treatment Outcome

Group B coxsackieviruses (CVBs) are a group of common human pathogens producing various clinical symptoms. Although the virology of CVB is well known, there is limited information on viral pathogenesis and the relationship between clinical symptoms and viral phenotype, particularly for CVB type 2 (CVB2). In 2004 in Korea, two CVB2 strains were isolated: CB2/04/279 from stool of an acute myocarditis patient with heart failure and CB2/04/243 from an aseptic meningitis patient. In this study, a high degree of homology was observed between the CB2/04/279 and CB2/04/243 full genome sequences. The two Korean CVB2 isolates had 93.1% homology compared to 82.1%–82.5% nucleotide sequence identity with the cardiovirulence-associated reference CVB strain Ohio-1 (CVB/O). CVB2-induced pathogenesis was analyzed, focusing on virus-induced pathology of various tissues in 4-week-old BALB/c inbred male mice. Myocarditis developed and extensive pancreatic inflammation was observed in all mice infected with CB2/04/279 or CVB/O, but not in animals infected with CB2/04/243. This is the first report of the full-genomic sequence and pathogenesis of the CVB2 strain isolated from an acute myocarditis patient in Korea.
Animals ; Base Sequence ; Enterovirus ; Genome ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Korea* ; Male ; Meningitis, Aseptic* ; Mice* ; Myocarditis* ; Pathology ; Phenotype ; Virology

We attempted to detect and identify virus types quickly by improving an RT-PCR-based dot-blot hybridization test for echoviruses, important human pathogens mainly causing aseptic meningitis. This test was applied to reference viruses of seven echovirus serotypes prevalent in Korea (E6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 25, and 30) and seventy isolates of echovirus isolated in Korea between 2002 and 2004. The primers for target DNA and hybridization probes (25mer, 50mer, and 70mer) were designed within the VP1 region of the echovirus. In RT-PCR, a nonradioactive digoxigenin-DNA labeling mix was added instead of dNTP to initiate PCR. The PCR product was then hybridized against 25mer, 50mer, and 70mer probe DNA spotted on nylon membranes and the reaction was observed. To investigate the optimal conditions for hybridization, various concentrations of target DNA (0.1, 1, 10, and 100 ng/micron l), size of probe DNA (25mer, 50mer, and 70mer), concentrations of probe DNA (10~50 pM), and reaction time were included. In the test zone, the optimal condition in terms of time and cost was a reaction time of 1 h with 10 ng/micron l target DNA concentration and 10 pM of a 50mer probe. We found 100% diagnosis of the serotypes for seven reference echoviruses and 90% (63/70) sensitivity for clinical isolates. Also, tests with this probe for reactivity with seven reference echoviruses by using DNA chips showed that diagnostic identification was possible without other serotype cross-reactivity. Therefore, efficiency analysis of probe and target DNA on clinical specimens by using dot-blot analysis indicated that this system can be applied to the prestages of the DNA chip and that the dot blot analysis itself can be used in applications to develop a tool for diagnosing specific viral serotypes.
Diagnosis ; DNA ; Enterovirus B, Human* ; Humans ; Korea ; Membranes ; Meningitis, Aseptic ; Nylons ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reaction Time