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The outbreak of new infectious diseases is threatening human survival. Transmission of such diseases is determined by several factors, with climate being a very important factor. This study was conducted to assess the correlation between the occurrence of infectious diseases and climatic factors using data from the Sentinel Surveillance System and meteorological data from Gwangju, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea. The climate of Gwangju from June to September is humid, with this city having the highest average temperature, whereas that from December to February is cold and dry. Infection rates of Salmonella (temperature: r = 0.710**; relative humidity: r = 0.669**), E. coli (r = 0.617**; r = 0.626**), rotavirus (r = − 0.408**; r = − 0.618**), norovirus (r = − 0.463**; r = − 0.316**), influenza virus (r = − 0.726**; r = − 0.672**), coronavirus (r = − 0.684**; r = − 0.408**), and coxsackievirus (r = 0.654**; r = 0.548**) have been shown to have a high correlation with seasonal changes, specifically in these meteorological factors. Pathogens showing distinct seasonality in the occurrence of infection were observed, and there was a high correlation with the climate characteristics of Gwangju. In particular, viral diseases show strong seasonality, and further research on this matter is needed. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine and prevention have become important to block the spread of infectious diseases. For this purpose, studies that predict infectivity through various types of data related to infection are important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute gastroenteritis is a global public health concern. This study aimed to analyze the trend and characteristics of acute viral gastroenteritis through a national surveillance network. Enteric viruses were detected in 9510 of 31,750 (30.1%) cases assessed from 2013 to 2019 by EnterNet. The most prevalent pathogens were norovirus (15.2%) and group A rotavirus (9.7%); most infections were reported in 2017 (34.0%). Norovirus and rotavirus coinfections were the most common. Norovirus infections were prevalent among 1‐year‐old children (1835 out of 9510 cases) during winter, and group A rotavirus infections were common during spring. Seasonality was not observed among enteric adenovirus, astrovirus, and sapovirus. The prevalent viral genotypes detected included norovirus GII.4, enteric adenovirus F41, astrovirus genotype 1, and sapovirus GI.1. However, changes in enteric virus trends were noted during the study period. Norovirus prevalence extended into spring, and new genotypes of enteric adenovirus, astrovirus, and sapovirus were identified. These surveillance data elucidate enteric virus epidemiological characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We conducted the longest study on the trends of enteric virus in Korea, and the positivity rate was in the order of norovirus (9.9 %), rotavirus (6.7 %), adenovirus (3.3 %), astrovirus (1.4 %), and sapovirus (0.6 %). • We are the first to describe how non-pharmaceutical interventions influence the trends of enteric viruses during and after pandemic periods, using a machine learning model. • The bayesian structural time series model revealed that intervention negatively affected the detection of viruses by -73.0 % to -91.0 %, with rotavirus being the least affected. • Non-pharmaceutical intervention mitigation positively affected the detection of all viruses, ranging from 79.0 % to 200.0 %, except for rotavirus. Viral gastroenteritis continues to be a leading cause of death in low-income countries. The impact of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on the transmission of gastroenteritis-causing viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic is understudied. To investigate the 10-year trends of enteric viruses and estimate the impact of implementing and mitigating NPIs. Data regarding norovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus, astrovirus, and sapovirus detection were collected from five Korean hospitals between January 2013 and April 2023. We compared positivity between the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods. The causal effects of implementing and mitigating NPIs were quantified using the Bayesian Structural Time Series (BSTS) model. Norovirus was most frequently detected (9.9 %), followed by rotavirus (6.7 %), adenovirus (3.3 %), astrovirus (1.4 %), and sapovirus (0.6 %). During the pandemic, the positivity of all five viruses decreased, ranging from -1.0 % to -8.1 %, with rotavirus showing the greatest decrease. In the post-pandemic period, positivity rebounded for all viruses except for rotavirus. The BSTS model revealed that NPI implementation negatively affected the detection of all five viruses, resulting in reductions ranging from -73.0 % to -91.0 % compared to the prediction, with rotavirus being the least affected. Conversely, NPI mitigation positively affected the detection of all viruses, ranging from 79.0 % to 200.0 %, except for rotavirus. Trends observed over 10 years show that NPIs have had a major impact on changes in enteric virus detection. The effect of vaccines, in addition to NPIs, on rotavirus detection requires further investigation. Our findings emphasize the importance of NPIs in infection control and prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 2000s, the major causes of acute gastroenteritis in children in Korea have been identified by classifying the pathogens into viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. For viruses, the detection rate is 20%--30%, and norovirus is being increasingly detected to account for the majority of viral gastroenteritis cases. In addition, despite the dissemination of the rotavirus vaccine, many rotavirus infections persist, and its seasonal distribution is changing. The detection rate of bacterial pathogens is 3%-20%, with Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. infections being the most common, while the incidences of Bacillus cereus and Campylobacter spp. infections are gradually increasing. Owing to intermittent outbreaks of gastroenteritis caused by individual bacteria as well as the inflow of causative bacteria, such as E. coli, Vibrio spp., and Campylobacter spp., from overseas, continuous surveillance of and research into the characteristics and serotypes of each bacterium are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the diversity of the G and P types of human rotavirus strains isolated in South Korea during 2000 to 2004. Methods: We selected 38 Group A rotavirus isolates among 652 fecal samples, which were collected from infants and children < 5 years of age with acute gastroenteritis or diarrhea admitted in 8 hospitals representative of five provinces of South Korea between 2000 and 2004. Rotavirus P- and G-genotypes were determined by nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was performed. Results: One G1P[4] consisted G1-Id-P[4]-V; one G1P[6] consisted G1-Id-P[6]-Ia; nine G1P[8] consisted G1-Ib-P[8]-Ia (n =3), G1-Ic-P[8]-Ia (n =1), and G1-Id-P[8]-Ia (n =5); 13 G2P[4] consisted G2-V-P[4]-V; two G3P[4] consisted G3-IIId-P[4]-V; five G3P[8] consisted G3-IIId-P[8]-Ia; four G4P[6] consisted G4-Ie-P[6]-Ia; two G4P[8] consisted G4-Ie-P[8]-II; one G9P[6] consisted G9-III-P[6]-Ia. Conclusions: A considerable amount of rotavirus genotypic diversity was detected in South Korea from 2000 to 2004. These findings are important to develop the effective vaccines and to undertake epidemiologic studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between ambient temperature and common viral and bacterial gastroenteritis in the Republic of Korea, which has a high-income and temperate climate, considering the different lagged effects of each causative pathogen.Methods: We obtained the number of weekly reported cases of infectious gastroenteritis caused by norovirus, group A rotavirus, enteric adenovirus, Clostridium perfringens, non-typhoidal Salmonella, and Campylobacter between 2015 and 2019 from the Korean Infectious Diseases Sentinel Surveillance System. We obtained weather data from the Korea Meteorological Administration for the same period. Generalized linear models with quasi-Poisson distributions and distributed lag non-linear models were utilized after adjusting for relative humidity, precipitation, long-term trends, and seasonality. We investigated the associations between weekly mean temperature and the weekly number of reported cases of each type of infectious gastroenteritis by applying different maximum lags for each type.Results: Compared with the 50th percentile temperature, the lag-cumulative relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) at the 5th percentile temperature for norovirus gastroenteritis, rotavirus gastroenteritis, adenovirus gastroenteritis were 11.0 (4.7-25.7), 2.7 (1.4-5.2), and 4.7 (1.4-15.8) by applying the maximum lag of 6, 4, and 3 weeks, respectively. Compared with the 50th percentile temperature, the lag-cumulative RRs with 95% CIs at the 95th percentile temperature for C. perfringens gastroenteritis, Salmonella gastroenteritis, and Campylobacter gastroenteritis were 1.2 (0.8-1.9), 3.0 (1.5-6.2), and 2.0 (1.1-3.6), by applying the maximum lag of 2, 3, and 2 weeks, respectively.Conclusions: Cold temperature increased the risk of viral gastroenteritis and showed relatively long lagged effects. Hot temperature increased the risk of bacterial gastroenteritis and showed relatively short lagged effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Acute gastroenteritis caused by viruses is one of the leading causes of childhood morbidity. Objective: The incidence and etiology of virus-associated gastroenteritis during 2001–2005 in Gyeonggi province, South Korea was determined. Study design: A total of 10,028 stool specimens were analyzed with enzyme immunoassay, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and nucleotide sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis of genotype sequences was performed for each of four commonly detected viral pathogens. Results: At least one viral agent was detected in 29.0% (2908 of 10,028) of the stool samples. Among these, rotavirus was most numerous (66.7%) followed by norovirus (12.6%), astrovirus (11.9%), and enteric adenovirus (2.6%). Mixed infections were identified in 180 cases (1.8%). Patients aged 1–5 years had the largest proportion 83.6% (2430 of 2908) of virus-positive stool specimens. Viral-mediated gastroenteritis was most common from December to May. The most prevalent strains of rotavirus, adenovirus, astrovirus, and norovirus were G1 type, type 41, G1 type, and GII-1 type, respectively. Conclusions: Our finding showed the diversity of viral causative agents of gastroenteritis and the prevalence of each gastroenteritis-associated viral genotype in South Korea. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]