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    Infect Chemother. 2011 Dec;43(6):468-473. Korean.
    Published online Dec 30, 2011.
    https://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2011.43.6.468
    Copyright © 2011 by The Korean Society of Infectious Diseases and Korean Society for Chemotherapy
    Review

    Trends in Childhood Bacterial Infectious Diseases in the Republic of Korea

    Young June Choe,1 and Hoan Jong Lee2
      • 1Division of VPD control and NIP, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Seoul, Korea.
      • 2Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
    • Correspondence to Hoan Jong Lee, M.D., Ph.D. Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University Children's Hospital, 28 Yeongeon-dong, Jongro-gu, Seoul 110-744, Korea. Tel: +82-2-2072-3633, Fax: +82-2-745-4703, Email: hoanlee@snu.ac.kr
    Received December 19, 2011; Accepted December 19, 2011.

    This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

    Abstract

    Bacterial infections have been the main threat to childhood health in Korea for the past 50 years. The economic growth and societal transition of the country during last century has made for an impressive story of success in the continuous reduction and effective control of both mortality from, and morbidity of, childhood bacterial infections. Many factors, including improved sanitation and living conditions, the introduction of antibiotics and vaccines, and the improvement of health care and settle down of surveillance systems, have contributed significantly to such success. However, childhood bacterial infections still play a significant role in child health from a clinical perspective, since the etiologic agents of invasive bacterial infections have changed following the changes in the environment and human behavior in the country. In order to meet this challenge, solid scientific knowledge and understanding of childhood bacterial infectious diseases during the last century are necessary. With transitions in epidemiology and microbiological characteristics, careful monitoring and building of scientific evidence are also needed in the to sustain and decrease the disease burden of childhood bacterial infections in Korea.

    Keywords
    Infectious diseases; Bacterial infection; Children; Trend; Change; Korea

    Figures

    Figure 1
    Trend of reported pertussis cases in Korea, 1955-2010. Adapted from reference [1] (National Notifiable Infectious Diseases Reports. Available at http://www.cdc.go.kr Accessed 29 November 2011).

    Figure 2
    Change in prevalence of tuberculosis in children at nine general hospitals in Korea from 1980 to 2006. Adapted from reference [7] (Korean J Pediatr Infect Dis 2009;16:107-114).

    Resp, respiratory tuberculosis; GI, gastrointestinal tuberculosis; Bone & Jt, bone & joint tuberculosis; Uro, urogenital tuberculosis; CNS, central nervous system tuberculosis.

    Figure 3
    Yearly distribution of 18 Salmonella typhi and 148 non-typhoidal Salmonellosis cases admitted to Seoul National University Children's Hospital from 1986 to 1995. Adapted from reference [14] (Korean J Infect Dis 1999;31:129-35).

    Figure 4
    Temporal changes in the relative proportions of the 4 most prevalent organisms in immunocompetent children above 3 months of age, admitted to 18 university-affiliated hospitals and diagnosed as invasive bacterial infections from 1996 to 2005, Korea. Adapted from reference [28] (J Korean Med Sci 2011;26:174-83).

    Figure 5
    Relative proportion of causative organisms of invasive bacterial infections in 56 neonates less than 3 months of age admitted to 25 hospitals from January to August 2011, Korea (Unpublished data).

    Tables

    Table 1
    Epidemiology of 68 Neonatal Tetanus Cases by Place of Birth and Mode of Umbilical Cord Cutting, Admitted to Seoul National University Hospital from 1959 to 1967

    Table 2
    Prevalence of Shigella species in Korea during the Last Five Decades

    Notes

    The content of this paper was presented in the Annual Autumn Meeting of the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, November 11th, 2011.

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    MeSH Terms
    Anti-Bacterial Agents
    Bacterial Infections
    Child
    Child Health
    Communicable Diseases
    Delivery of Health Care
    Economic Development
    Humans
    Korea
    Republic of Korea
    Sanitation
    Social Conditions
    Vaccines
    Metrics
    Share
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