Epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks in the Republic of Korea, 2016–2020
Objectives We described the trends and epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks from 2016 to 2020 in the Republic of Korea. Methods We investigated variables such as the outbreak setting, age of patients, vaccination status, and lesion count. The collected data were analyzed with the C...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ophrp.org/upload/pdf/j-phrp-2022-0087.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797760939570757632 |
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| author | Eun-Young Kim Chungmin Park Gyehee Lee Suyeon Jeong Jeongsuk Song Dong-Han Lee |
| author_facet | Eun-Young Kim Chungmin Park Gyehee Lee Suyeon Jeong Jeongsuk Song Dong-Han Lee |
| author_sort | Eun-Young Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives We described the trends and epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks from 2016 to 2020 in the Republic of Korea. Methods We investigated variables such as the outbreak setting, age of patients, vaccination status, and lesion count. The collected data were analyzed with the Cochrane-Armitage trend test and Kruskal-Wallis test. These statistical tests were performed using R ver. 4.0.3. Results The number of varicella outbreaks increased from 2016 to 2018; however, after a slight decrease in the number of outbreaks in 2019, the number fell sharply in 2020. The median size of outbreaks decreased from 8 to 9 cases during 2016−2019 to 6 cases in 2020. The median duration of outbreaks was 18 days during 2016−2017, 28 days in 2018, 29 days in 2019, and 15 days in 2020. Varicella outbreaks occurred most frequently in elementary schools, and vaccination coverage of patients increased from 89.4% in 2016 to 97.2% in 2019. The median age of patients with outbreak-related varicella decreased from 8 years in 2016 to 6 years in 2020. Conclusion Significant changes were observed in the age of patients with outbreak-related varicella. Ongoing monitoring of varicella outbreaks should be conducted. Further research will be needed to measure the disease burden of varicella and enable evidence-based policy decisions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T19:05:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fb57dadef46b40de84c299a08fc1d151 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2210-9099 2210-9110 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T19:05:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives |
| spelling | doaj.art-fb57dadef46b40de84c299a08fc1d1512023-08-02T06:17:08ZengKorea Disease Control and Prevention AgencyOsong Public Health and Research Perspectives2210-90992210-91102022-04-0113213314110.24171/j.phrp.2022.0087657Epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks in the Republic of Korea, 2016–2020Eun-Young Kim0Chungmin Park1Gyehee Lee2Suyeon Jeong3Jeongsuk Song4Dong-Han Lee5 Chungcheong Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Daejeon, Korea Division of Risk Assessment, Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Korea Division of Infectious Disease Control, Bureau of Infectious Disease Policy, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare, Sejong, Korea Division of Healthcare Associated Infection Control, Bureau of Healthcare Safety and Immunization, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Korea Gyeongnam Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Busan, KoreaObjectives We described the trends and epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks from 2016 to 2020 in the Republic of Korea. Methods We investigated variables such as the outbreak setting, age of patients, vaccination status, and lesion count. The collected data were analyzed with the Cochrane-Armitage trend test and Kruskal-Wallis test. These statistical tests were performed using R ver. 4.0.3. Results The number of varicella outbreaks increased from 2016 to 2018; however, after a slight decrease in the number of outbreaks in 2019, the number fell sharply in 2020. The median size of outbreaks decreased from 8 to 9 cases during 2016−2019 to 6 cases in 2020. The median duration of outbreaks was 18 days during 2016−2017, 28 days in 2018, 29 days in 2019, and 15 days in 2020. Varicella outbreaks occurred most frequently in elementary schools, and vaccination coverage of patients increased from 89.4% in 2016 to 97.2% in 2019. The median age of patients with outbreak-related varicella decreased from 8 years in 2016 to 6 years in 2020. Conclusion Significant changes were observed in the age of patients with outbreak-related varicella. Ongoing monitoring of varicella outbreaks should be conducted. Further research will be needed to measure the disease burden of varicella and enable evidence-based policy decisions.http://ophrp.org/upload/pdf/j-phrp-2022-0087.pdfchickenpoxchildoutbreak |
| spellingShingle | Eun-Young Kim Chungmin Park Gyehee Lee Suyeon Jeong Jeongsuk Song Dong-Han Lee Epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks in the Republic of Korea, 2016–2020 Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives chickenpox child outbreak |
| title | Epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks in the Republic of Korea, 2016–2020 |
| title_full | Epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks in the Republic of Korea, 2016–2020 |
| title_fullStr | Epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks in the Republic of Korea, 2016–2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks in the Republic of Korea, 2016–2020 |
| title_short | Epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks in the Republic of Korea, 2016–2020 |
| title_sort | epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks in the republic of korea 2016 2020 |
| topic | chickenpox child outbreak |
| url | http://ophrp.org/upload/pdf/j-phrp-2022-0087.pdf |
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