Korean J Intern Med.  2016 May;31(3):579-584. 10.3904/kjim.2014.255.

Comparative study on the epidemiological aspects of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infections between Korea and Japan, 2006 to 2010

• Lee WC
• Kwon YH

• KMID: 2163515
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2014.255

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
To compare the epidemiological aspects of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) between Korea and Japan by analyzing the current state of EHEC infection outbreaks and related risk factors.
METHODS
We investigated the epidemiological aspects of EHEC infection cases between Korea and Japan from 2006 to 2010. The following factors were analyzed: national prevalence rate (PR), regional prevalence rate, epidemic aspects (i.e., Cases related to gender), male to female morbidity ratio, age, and seasonal distribution.
RESULTS
In total, there were 254 cases of EHEC with an average PR of 0.11 per 100,000 populations in Korea from 2006 to 2010. During the same period in Japan, there were 20,883 cases of EHEC with an average PR of 3.26 per 100,000 populations. The PR in Japan was significantly higher than that in Korea (p < 0.01). In both countries, more females than males had EHEC infections, with the highest incidence of infections (> 50%) observed for individuals younger than 9 years. EHEC is an emerging zoonosis and may be caused by consumption of raw or undercooked meat products from ruminants.
CONCLUSIONS
This study provides a quantitative analysis of the epidemiological aspects and risk factors of EHEC infections in Korea and Japan and will provide insight on effective future strategies to reduce these infections.

Keyword

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli; Outbreaks; Epidemiologic studies; Korea; Japan

MeSH Terms

Disease Outbreaks
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli*
Epidemiologic Studies
Female
Humans
Incidence
Japan*
Korea*
Male
Meat Products
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Ruminants
Seasons