Case Study of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) Outbreak in South Korea and Future Implications

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) is a potentially fatal respiratory viral infection that has had outbreaks in the Middle East and Asia region starting in 2012. As recent as 2015, MERS had outbreaks in South Korea, resulting in 36 deaths among 186 infected patients. The purpose of this thesis is to gain an in-depth understanding of how this viral infection behaves in outbreaks and how it is spread around the globe. To gain insight, real time analysis was performed under a case study methodology based on pooled data from the Ministry of Health & Welfare of South Korea. We calculated a striated mortality rate based on gender, age, and the presence of pre-existing health conditions ranging from heart, lung, and kidney diseases. We found that MERS outbreak follows the pattern of a point source outbreak, largely spurred by the patient-referral system under the universal healthcare system in South Korea. The purpose of this case is to discuss the benefits and challenges of such patient referral system, and to offer a possible solution in improving transparency between healthcare providers and the government under a universal healthcare system to prevent future outbreaks.

Neurological diseases caused by coronavirus infection of the respiratory airways

Infections of the central nervous system(CNS)infections are critical problems for public health.They are caused by several different organisms,including the respiratory coronaviruses(Co Vs).Co Vs usually infect the upper respiratory tract causing the common cold.However,in infants,and in elderly and immunocompromised persons,they can also affect the lower respiratory tract causing pneumonia and various syndromes of respiratory distress.Co Vs also have neuroinvasive capabilities because they can spread from the respiratory tract to the CNS.Once infection begins in the CNS cells,it can cause various CNS problems such as status epilepticus,encephalitis,and long-term neurological disease.This neuroinvasive properties of Co Vs may damage the CNS as a result of misdirected host immune response,which could be associated with autoimmunity in susceptible individuals(virus-induced neuro-immunopathology)or associated with viral replication directly causing damage to the CNS cells(virus-induced neuropathology).In December 2019,a new disease named COVID-19 emerged which is caused by Co Vs.The significant clinical symptoms of COVID-19 are related to the respiratory system,but they can also affect the CNS,causing acute cerebrovascular and intracranial infections.We describe the possible invasion routes of coronavirus in this review article,and look for the most recent findings associated with the neurological complications in the recently published literature.

The COVID-19 Outbreak in South Korea: Lessons to Be Learned

The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel type of coronavirus-related disease that has over 4 million confirmed cases worldwide as of May 13th, 2020. With over 200 countries impacted by the pandemic, many countries have taken drastic measures such as temporary closure of international borders. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the South Korean response to COVID-19 and the keys to successful containment of the disease. Real time analysis was performed on data provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Comparisons of disease containment among countries with the highest confirmed cases were normalized for population size differences by taking the proportion of confirmed cases to population size. We further compared the disease outbreak in Seoul, a very urban environment, to the whole country of South Korea, to compare public health in urban and rural environments. We found that the efficient partnership between the private sector and the state led to rapid development in testing kits, which was integral to the South Korean response to COVID-19. In addition, the South Koreans’ community spirit, approval of government-led interventions, and societal norm of wearing masks were also efficient social responses to the spreading disease. In this paper, we navigate the impacts of a universal healthcare system and its ability to battle infectious diseases and the efficacy of various governmental actions in response to a public health crisis.