Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 21, Number 11—November 2015
Synopsis

Achievements in and Challenges of Tuberculosis Control in South Korea

Ji Han Kim and Jae-Joon YimComments to Author 
Author affiliations: Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

Main Article

Table 1

Prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis, South Korea, 1965–1995*

Confirmed cases Prevalence, by year
1965, N = 20,117 1970, N = 26,314 1975, N = 27,090 1980, N = 23,319 1985, N = 39,704 1990, N = 48,976 1995, N = 64,713
All pulmonary cases, radiographically active
No. cases
Per 100,000 population 5,065 4,222 3,326 2,509 2158 1,842 1,032
Total 1,019 1,111 901 585 857 902 668
Patient sex
M 614 650 551 374 534 577 445
F 405 461 350 211 323 325 223
Patient age, y
5–19 223 296 215 80 103 131 30
20–34 219 203 175 130 218 153 90
35–49 266 273 203 153 203 190 134
50–64 206 193 192 134 185 243 222
>65
105
146
116
88
148
185
192
Bacteriologically confirmed cases, smear and/or culture positive
No. cases
Per 100,000 population 940 741 764 545 443 241 219
Total 189 195 207 127 176 118 142
Patient sex
M 137 130 139 94 134 84 98
F 52 65 68 33 42 34 44
Patient age, y
5–19 26 16 26 7 9 5 2
20–34 59 43 44 24 42 15 19
35–49 65 61 58 39 54 34 34
50–64 32 52 55 31 41 37 44
>65
7
23
24
26
30
27
43
Smear positive cases only
No. cases
Per 100,000 population 686 559 480 309 239 143 93
Total 138 147 130 72 95 70 60
Patient sex
M 96 NA 92 57 77 53 39
F 42 NA 38 15 18 17 21
Patient age, y
5–19 18 NA 10 5 3 2 1
20–34 45 NA 32 15 23 7 11
35–49 50 NA 42 25 37 26 11
50–64 18 NA 36 17 23 22 19
>65 7 NA 10 10 9 13 18

*Data are based on a nationwide tuberculosis survey that is conducted every 5 years (4). NA, not available.

Main Article

References
  1. World Bank. Incidence of tuberculosis (per 100,000 people). 2015 [cited 2015 Jul 5]. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.TBS.INCD/countries
  2. Choi  EK. Study of epidemic of tuberculosis and responses in Korea during Japanese colonial period [dissertation, in Korean]. Seoul (South Korea): Seoul National University; 2011.
  3. Park  YJ. The work of Sherwood Hall and the Haiju Tuberculosis Sanatorium in colonial Korea. Uisahak. 2013;22:681712 . DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Hong  YP, Kim  SJ, Lew  WJ, Lee  EK, Han  YC. The seventh nationwide tuberculosis prevalence survey in Korea, 1995. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 1998;2:2736 .PubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Korean National Tuberculosis Association. A history of tuberculosis in Korea [in Korean]. Seoul (South Korea): The Association; 1998.
  6. World Bank. GDP per capita (current US$). 2014 [cited 2014 Jun 30]. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD
  7. Drolet  GJ. World War I and tuberculosis. A statistical summary and review. Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1945;35:68997. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Public Health England. Tuberculosis mortality and mortality rate, England and Wales, 1913–2012. 2013 [cited 2014 Jul 15]. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tuberculosis-tb-annual-notifications-1913-to-2012
  9. Drolet  GJ, Lowell  AM. A half century’s progress against tuberculosis in New York City, 1900 to 1950. New York: New York Tuberculosis and Health Association; 1952.
  10. Khan  IM, Laaser  U. Burden of tuberculosis in Afghanistan: update on a war-stricken country. Croat Med J. 2002;43:2457 .PubMedGoogle Scholar
  11. Hong  YP, Kim  SJ, Kwon  DW, Chang  SC, Lew  WJ, Han  YC. The sixth nationwide tuberculosis prevalence survey in Korea, 1990. Tuber Lung Dis. 1993;74:32331. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Hong  YP, Kim  SJ, Lew  WJ, Lee  SH, Lee  EK. Cohort analyses of the treatment of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients under programme conditions in Korea, 1983–1994. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 1998;2:36571 .PubMedGoogle Scholar
  13. Ministry of Education. Statistical yearbook of education [in Korean]. 2013 [cited 2015 Apr 15]. http://kess.kedi.re.kr/publ/view?survSeq=2013&publSeq=2&menuSeq=0&itemCode=02
  14. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD family database. 2014 [cited 2015 Apr 15]. http://www.oecd.org/els/family/database.htm
  15. Statistics Korea. Population and housing census 2010 [in Korean]. 2011 [cited 2015 Apr 28]. http://kostat.go.kr
  16. Hong  YP, Kim  SJ, Lee  EG, Lew  WJ, Bai  JY. Treatment of bacillary pulmonary tuberculosis at the chest clinics in the private sector in Korea, 1993. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 1999;3:695702 .PubMedGoogle Scholar
  17. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual report on the notified tuberculosis in Korea [in Korean]. Cheongju (South Korea): The Centers; 2015.
  18. Hong  SJ, Park  YS, An  H, Kang  SM, Cho  EH, Shin  SS. Factors leading to under-reporting of tuberculosis in the private sector in Korea. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2012;16:12217. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  19. Janssens  JP, Rieder  HL. An ecologic analysis of incidence of tuberculosis and per capita gross domestic product. Eur Respir J. 2008;32:14156. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  20. Vesosky  B, Turner  J. The influence of age on immunity to infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Immunol Rev. 2005;205:22943. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  21. Park  YK, Park  YS, Na  KI, Cho  EH, Shin  S-S, Kim  HJ. Increased tuberculosis burden due to demographic transition in Korea from 2001 to 2010. Tuberc Respir Dis (Seoul). 2013;74:10410. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  22. Jeong  YJ, Yoon  S, Koo  HK, Lim  HJ, Lee  JS, Lee  SM, Positive tuberculin skin test or interferon-gamma release assay in patients with radiographic lesion suggesting old healed tuberculosis. J Korean Med Sci. 2012;27:7616.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  23. Baghaei  P, Marjani  M, Javanmard  P, Tabarsi  P, Masjedi  MR. Diabetes mellitus and tuberculosis facts and controversies. J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2013;12:58. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  24. Dooley  KE, Chaisson  RE. Tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus: convergence of two epidemics. Lancet Infect Dis. 2009;9:73746. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  25. Kim  DJ. The epidemiology of diabetes in Korea. Diabetes Metab J. 2011;35:303–8.
  26. Koo  BK. Diabetes mellitus and tuberculosis. Diabetes Metab J. 2013;37:249–51.
  27. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Non-medical determinants of health: tobacco consumption. 2014 [cited 2014 July 2]. http://stats.oecd.org/
  28. den Boon  S, van Lill  SW, Borgdorff  MW, Verver  S, Bateman  ED, Lombard  CJ, Association between smoking and tuberculosis infection: a population survey in a high tuberculosis incidence area. Thorax. 2005;60:5557. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  29. Jee  SH, Golub  JE, Jo  J, Park  IS, Ohrr  H, Samet  JM. Smoking and risk of tuberculosis incidence, mortality, and recurrence in South Korean men and women. Am J Epidemiol. 2009;170:147885. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  30. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Korean guidelines for tuberculosis [in Korean]. Cheongju (South Korea): The Centers; 2011.
  31. Mitnick  C, Bayona  J, Palacios  E, Shin  S, Furin  J, Alcantara  F, Community-based therapy for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Lima, Peru. N Engl J Med. 2003;348:11928 . DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  32. World Health Organization. An expanded DOTS framework for effective tuberculosis control. 2002 [cited 2014 Jul 2]. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2002/WHO_CDS_TB_2002.297.pdf?ua=1
  33. Kim  HJ, Bai  G-H, Kang  MK, Kim  SJ, Lee  JK, Cho  S-I, A public–private collaboration model for treatment intervention to improve outcomes in patients with tuberculosis in the private sector. Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases. 2009;66:349–57.
  34. Jeon  CY, Kang  H, Kim  M, Murray  MB, Kim  H, Cho  EH, Clustering of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from foreign-born patients in Korea. J Med Microbiol. 2011;60:183540. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  35. Choi  CM, June  JH, Kang  CI, Park  JT, Oh  SY, Lee  JB, Tuberculosis among dislocated North Koreans entering Republic of Korea since 1999. J Korean Med Sci. 2007;22:9637 . DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  36. World Health Organization. Public–private mix for DOTS: towards scaling up. 2005 [cited 2014 Jul 7]. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2005/WHO_HTM_TB_2005.356.pdf
  37. Oh  E-J. Treatment outcomes of tuberculosis patients through private–public mix collaboration (PPM) in private sector in Korea, 2011 [in Korean]. 2012 [cited 2014 Jul 15]. http://www.cdc.go.kr/CDC/contents/CdcKrContentLink.jsp?fid=31&cid=12798&ctype=6
  38. Uplekar  M, Pathania  V, Raviglione  M. Private practitioners and public health: weak links in tuberculosis control. Lancet. 2001;358:9126. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  39. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Tuberculosis Program guideline [in Korean]. 2013 [cited 2014 Jul 15]. http://www.hira.or.kr/cms/notice/01/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2013/07/09/main5_1.pdf
  40. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tuberculosis outbreak investigations in institutions [in Korean]. Cheongju (South Korea): The Centers; 2014.

Main Article

Page created: October 16, 2015
Page updated: October 16, 2015
Page reviewed: October 16, 2015
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external