PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

This report analyzes the characteristics of coronavirus disease 2 019 (COVID-19) cases collected through mandatory surveillance between January 20, 2020 and August 30, 2023, by age, sex, and region. During the mandatory surveillance period, 34,572,554 cases, 35,605 deaths, and 38,112 severe/critical cases were recorded. The number of COVID-19 cases gradually increased in 2020 and 2021; however, the cases surged, with 82.2% of the pandemic’s total cases reported in 2022, after the omicron variant became the dominant strain in January 2022. In March 2022, 9,959,368 cases were reported, accounting for the highest proportion (28.8%) of total cases. Individuals in their 40s (15.1%) and 30s (14.7%) represented the highest proportion of cases during the study period. Annually, the highest proportion of cases in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 were observed among individuals in their 50s, 20s, 40s, and 30s, respectively. Regionally, metropolitan region accounted for 52.1% of the total cases. In non-metropolitan regions, most cases in 2020 were reported in Daegu and Gyeongbuk and increased in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam thereafter. This report complies with and conveys information on the characteristics of COVID-19 cases reported during the mandatory surveillance period. This report may serve as a reference for future respiratory infectious disease crises.

The importance of the One Health approach has been consistently highlighted by various international organizations (World Health Organization, World Organisation for Animal Health, United Nations Environment Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization), forums (Group of 7, Group of 20, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and major developed countries. Major developed countries have already established dedicated government organizations or entities to develop and execute One Health policies. Germany, in particular, has formulated specific plans to address antimicrobial resistance and zoonotic diseases through close inter-ministerial collaboration under the One Health approach. Additionally, Germany has signed research agreements to strengthen inter-ministerial cooperation for the One Health approach and is conducting multidisciplinary research on infectious diseases across fields such as medicine, veterinary science, and the humanities. Recognizing the importance of the One Health approach, Republic of Korea is also working to promote One Health by developing governance frameworks and a national joint action plan. This study aims to analyze Germany’s One Health implementation frameworks as a reference to establish effective strategies for a practical One Health system.

Cigarette use is a health hazard that has been reported to reduce life expectancy, increase the risk of death, and result in high socioeconomic costs. New cigarettes increase the ratio of users and reduce the perception of harm to cigarettes by adding liquid nicotine, flavor, and taste. However, aerosols from cigarettes are presumed to be non harmless vapors. Because health effects greatly depend on smokers’ behaviors, the risk of smoking cannot be used to assess the content of harmful chemicals. Accordingly, we conducted an experiment based on behavioral surveys of smokers to evaluate the health effects of exposure to harmful substances. Following this global trend, alternative animal testing methods are proposed to ban animal testing. Therefore, we reviewed the necessity of alternative animal testing for smoking hazards. Organoids are three-dimensional organized cell-derived organs that can be studied in tissues. Therefore, lung organoids can be used as biological tools for smoking hazard research. Six research papers on the current situation of smoking hazard using lung-organoids have been confirmed. These papers discuss the effects of smoking on lung organoids production or pathway study of lung disease by smoking based on the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We examined lung organoid-related studies on lung diseases. Eventually, we will apply the results of exposure to harmful substances following smokers’ behaviors from experiments.