Changes in epidemiology of respiratory viruses after COVID-19 pandemic in Daegu City and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, Korea

Changes in epidemiology of respiratory viruses after COVID-19 pandemic in Daegu City and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, Korea

Blog Article

BACKGROUND and AIM: After the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Daegu City and Gyengsangbuk-do read more Province (Daegu-Gyengbuk) in February 2020, the guidelines were relaxed in May 2022, and the infection crisis level was lowered to Level 1 in May 2024.We aim to analyze the changes of seasonal epidemic of seven respiratory viruses (adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, metapneumovirus, bocavirus, enterovirus) in Daegu-Gyengbuk, Korea.METHODS: Respiratory virus Multiplex real-time PCR tests for 35,502 samples were conducted at the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Center of the Seegene Medical Foundation from January 2022 to June 2024 using AllplexTM Respiratory Panel 1,2,3 kit (Seegene, Republic of Korea).

RESULTS: Six of seven respiratory viruses, excluding enteroviruses, showed an unusual seasonal epidemic patterns that different from the typical seasonal pattern (Table 1 and Figure 1).CONCLUSIONS: The rapid increase in respiratory virus infections in 2022 has been explained tokidoki hello kitty blind box by decreased immunity to various respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and increased contact and negligence in personal hygiene management after the COVID-19 pandemic, showing that viruses can spread even under suboptimal environmental conditions in situations where human immunity is low.Fortunately, the results of this study suggest that the seasonal epidemic will return to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic state from 2023, and preemptive response to respiratory virus epidemics through continuous monitoring of positive rates will be necessary in the future.