Infectious Respiratory Diseases Decreased during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea

Abstract

Infectious respiratory diseases are highly contagious and very common, and thus can be considered as one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. We followed up the incidence rates (IRs) of eight infectious respiratory diseases, including chickenpox, measles, pertussis, mumps, invasive pneumococcal disease, scarlet fever, rubella, and meningococcal disease, after COVID-19 mitigation measures were implemented in South Korea, and then compared those with the IRs in the corresponding periods in the previous 3 years. Overall, the IRs of these diseases before and after age- or sex-standardization significantly decreased in the intervention period compared with the pre-intervention periods (p < 0.05 for all eight diseases). However, the difference in the IRs of all eight diseases between the IRs before and after age-standardization was significant (p < 0.05 for all periods), while it was not significant with regard to sex-standardization. The incidence rate ratios for eight diseases in the pre-intervention period compared with the intervention period ranged from 3.1 to 4.1. These results showed the positive effects of the mitigation measures on preventing the development of respiratory infectious diseases, regardless of age or sex, but we need to consider the age-structure of the population to calculate the effect size. In the future, some of these measures could be applied nationwide to prevent the occurrence or to reduce the transmission during outbreaks of these infections. This study provides evidence for strengthening the infectious disease management policies in South Korea.

Association between the COVID-19 pandemic and pertussis derived from multiple nationwide data sources, France, 2013 to 2020

“…We identified six studies, including two European studies from Italy and Sweden, describing the trends of several infectious diseases, including pertussis, before and after implementing their respective COVID-19 mitigation measures [21][22][23][24]. Although the power of these studies was much lower compared with ours (lower duration of surveillance and description of a maximum of ca 1,500 cases, vs 19,039 cases in our study), they found a decrease in pertussis cases following the implementation of mitigation measures, with reductions ranging from 28% to 87% [21][22][23][24][25][26].…”

A Simple Method to Quantify Outward Leakage of Medical Face Masks and Barrier Face Coverings: Implication for the Overall Filtration Efficiency

“…The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 mainly occurs through the airways by the saliva droplets emission and by the aerosols generated by respiration [ 3 , 4 ], while a minor role is associated with contact with contaminated surfaces [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. According to the main route of transmission, the use of face masks to cover mouth and nose proved to be among the most effective tools for limiting the spread of SARS-CoV-2 [ 9 ] resulting in a significant decrease of several infectious respiratory diseases [ 10 , 11 ].…”

Viral Detection of Suspected Sporadic Mumps in Gwangju, South Korea in 2021

“…Studies by Danfeng et al [23] also showed that the frequency of co-infection between the ages of 3 and 6 years was higher than that in other age groups. Respiratory virus infection is considered highly contagious, making it easy for young people with weak immunity to become infected [7,24].…”

“…Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, mitigation measures, such as compliance with personal hygiene regulations, social distancing, and environmental cleaning to prevent the spread of COVID-19, have affected the overall reduction of infectious diseases [7,8]. However, despite the decreasing trend, the number of cases with mumps reported to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in 2021 were 9,708, the second-most after 20,923 cases of chickenpox.…”