Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Supplies Additional Antiviras Drug Market for 1.25 Million People

As respiratory infectious diseases rage, special attention is required in wearing masks and personal hygiene management.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held the first meeting of the joint task force of the ministries related to respiratory infectious diseases in the afternoon of the previous day and collected responses from the ministries and expert opinions. The number of influenza doctors per 1,000 outpatients at the parliamentary-level sample monitoring agency was 61.3 in two weeks this month. This is the highest level in the last five years.

In particular, infections over the age of 60 were found to be serious. In the surveillance of hospitalized patients with acute respiratory infections, the proportion of people aged 65 and over was 40.3%. In the surveillance of hospitalized patients with severe acute respiratory infections, the proportion of people aged 65 and over was the highest at 47.4%.

The number of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections has decreased in the last two weeks, and whooping cough has stagnated since three weeks last month. Most of these infectious diseases occur in infants and school-age children under the age of 12.

As the epidemic of respiratory infections continues, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will check supply and demand trends, including distributors' inventory status, for cold drugs that complain of shortages at sites such as Jinhae Gobam, and supply an additional 1,256,000 people to the market following the market supply of 316,000 antiviral drugs.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae will also be added to the National Antibiotic Resistance Information Monitoring System (KARMS). The government will expand monitoring of antibiotic resistance and implement intensive monitoring of the use of mycoplasma pneumoniae medications by domestic medical institutions in cooperation with the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service.

The Korean Society of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Diseases and the Korean Society of Pediatric Infections have also decided to revise mycoplasma-related guidelines that reflect antibiotic resistance and clinical conditions.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will establish a system to monitor the current status of treatment due to Mycoplasmic pneumonia, influenza, and pertussis for some of the children's hospitals across the country.

Earlier on the 14th, the government held an expert advisory meeting and will push for a revision of the notification on the 20th to expand the scope of antibiotic use for patients who are resistant to macrolide antibiotics within the range considering safety. Currently, the use of pediatric patients with Mycoplasma pneumonia is restricted due to age contraindication.

Experts who attended the meeting stressed that the most effective means is vaccination, considering the rapidly increasing number of influenza patients. It was recommended to observe personal hygiene rules such as hand washing and coughing etiquette during group life and to wear a mask if there are symptoms of respiratory infectious diseases.

Ji Young-mi, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "Other respiratory infectious diseases that were not prevalent due to COVID-19 quarantine measures are unusually prevalent."

Reporter Kim Yang-kyun: angel@zdnet.co.kr