Volume 32, Number 8—August 2026
Research Letter
Kudoa septempunctata Parasite–Associated Foodborne Disease Outbreaks, South Korea, 2015–2024
Seongdae Kim and Byung Chul Chun
Table
Characteristics of cases and settings for Kudoa septempunctata parasite–associated foodborne disease outbreaks, South Korea, 2015–2024*
| Year | No. outbreaks | No. cases | No. cases/outbreak | Incidence rate, cases/100,000 population | Outbreak setting, no. (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | Other facility† | |||||
| Pre–COVID-19 period | ||||||
| 2015 | 15 | 114 | 7.6 | 0.22 | 11 (73.3) | 4 (26.7) |
| 2016 | 39 | 212 | 5.4 | 0.41 | 32 (82.1) | 7 (17.9) |
| 2017 | 39 | 177 | 4.5 | 0.34 | 31 (79.5) | 8 (20.5) |
| 2018 | 37 | 229 | 6.2 | 0.44 | 25 (67.6) | 12 (32.4) |
| 2019 |
48 |
308 |
6.4 |
0.59 |
36 (75.0) |
12 (25.0) |
| COVID-19 and postpandemic period | ||||||
| 2020 | 10 | 40 | 4.0 | 0.08 | 10 (100.0) | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 0.02 | 2 (100.0) | 0 |
| 2022 | 6 | 24 | 4.0 | 0.05 | 5 (83.3) | 1 (16.7) |
| 2023 | 11 | 48 | 4.4 | 0.09 | 9 (81.8) | 2 (18.2) |
| 2024 |
8 |
70 |
8.8 |
0.14 |
6 (75.0) |
2 (25.0) |
| Total | 215 | 1,230 | 5.7 | 0.24 | 167 (77.7) | 48 (22.3) |
*Total incidence rate represents the annual average calculated as total cases divided by mean annual population over the 10-y study period. Outbreak and setting data, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety surveillance system; population data, Statistics Korea. No home-setting outbreaks were reported throughout the study period. Pre–COVID-19 period January 2015–February 2020; COVID-19 and postpandemic period March 2020–December 2024. †Encompasses food service settings not classified as schools, group catering facilities, or private residences, including convenience stores, retail markets, and street food vendors.
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Page updated: July 27, 2026
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