The detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in upper and lower respiratory specimens and coinfection with other respiratory pathogens in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was investigated. Study subjects (N=342) were retrospectively enrolled after being confirmed as SARS-CoV-2 positive, and their nasopharyngeal swab (NPS), oropharyngeal swab (OPS), and sputum specimens were restored for SARS-CoV-2 retesting and respiratory pathogen detection. The majority of the subjects (96.5, N=330) were confirmed as SARS-CoV-2 positive using NPS/OPS specimens. Among the COVID-19 patients (N=342), 7.9 (N=27) and 0.9 (N=3) were coinfected with respiratory viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, respectively, yielding an 8.8 (N=30) overall respiratory pathogen coinfection rate. Of the respiratory virus coinfection cases (N=27), 92.6 (N=25) were coinfected with a single respiratory virus and 7.4 (N=2) with two viruses (metapneumovirus/adenovirus and rhinovirus/bocavirus). No triple coinfections of other respiratory viruses or bacteria with SARS-CoV-2 were detected. Respiratory viruses coinfected in the patients with COVID-19 were as follows: rhinovirus (N=7, 2.1), respiratory syncytial virus A and B (N=6, 1.8), non-SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses (229E, NL63, and OC43, N=5, 1.5), metapneumovirus (N=4, 1.2), influenza A (N=3, 0.9), adenovirus (N=3, 0.9), and bocavirus (N=1, 0.3). In conclusion, the diagnostic value of utilizing NPS/OPS specimens is excellent, and, as the first report in Korea, coinfection with respiratory pathogens was detected at a rate of 8.8 in patients with COVID-19.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) triggers disease with nonspecific symptoms that overlap those of infections caused by other seasonal respiratory viruses (RVs), such as the influenza virus (Flu) or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). A molecular assay for accurate and rapid detection of RV and SARS-CoV-2 is crucial to manage these infections. Here, we compared the analytical performance and clinical reliability of Allplex™ SARS-CoV-2/FluA/FluB/RSV (SC2FabR; Seegene Inc., Seoul, South Korea) kit with those of four commercially available RV detection kits. Upon testing five target viral strains (SARS-CoV-2, FluA, FluB, RSV A, and RSV B), the analytical performance of SC2FabR was similar to that of the other kits, with no significant difference (p ≥ 0.78) in z-scores. The efficiency of SC2FabR (E-value, 81–104%) enabled reliable SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal RV detection in 888 nasopharyngeal swab specimens processed using a fully automated nucleic acid extraction platform. Bland–Altman analyses revealed an agreement value of 95.4% (SD ± 1.96) for the kits, indicating statistically similar results for all five. In conclusion, SC2FabR is a rapid and accurate diagnostic tool for both SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal RV detection, allowing for high-throughput RV analysis with efficiency comparable to that of commercially available kits. This can be used to help manage respiratory infections in patients during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the third highly pathogenic human coronavirus and is rapidly transmitted by infected individuals regardless of their symptoms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to the dearth of skilled healthcare workers (HCWs) to collect samples for early diagnosis, self-collection emerged as a viable alternative. To evaluate the reliability of self-collection, we compared the virus detection rate using 3990 self-collected swabs and HCW-collected swabs, procured from the same individuals and collected immediately after the self-collection. The results of multiplex reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed that the viral load in the HCW-collected swabs was marginally (18.4–28.8 times) higher than that in self-collected swabs. Self-collection showed no significant difference in sensitivity and specificity from HCW-collection (κ = 0.87, McNemar’s test; p = 0.19), indicating a comparable performance. These findings suggest that self-collected swabs are acceptable substitutes for HCW-collected swabs, and that their use improved the specimen screening efficiency and reduced the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jung J, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2017 Jul;32(7):1105-1110. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2017.32.7.1105

Tuberculosis is one of the most prevalent diseases in North Korea. Despite some positive accomplishments by current aid projects, it is still necessary to investigate the existing aid system. The following are necessary for improvement: sustaining a high degree of expertise, cooperation among various related parties including the international community, mediation to induce this cooperation, a more active role of the South Korean government, and encouragement of North Korea to more actively participate. Achieving these will help solve the issues of current tuberculosis aid projects in North Korea and lead to more successful outcomes.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global pandemic [1]. As of January 31, 2022, the global cumulative numbers of confirmed cases and deaths of COVID-19 reached 376,854,195 and 5,695,057, respectively [2]. The first case of COVID-19 infection in South Korea was reported in January 2020 [3]. By the end of January 2022, there had been four epidemics in South Korea. As of January 31, 2022, the cumulative numbers of confirmed cases and deaths in South Korea were 845,610 and 6,755, respectively [4]. As the pandemic continued, the virus mutated, which affected South Korea. In the fourth epidemic, which lasted about six months starting in July 2021 in South Korea, the Delta variant was the major cause [3]. In November 2021, the South Korean government implemented Living with COVID, a phased recovery to “normal daily lives” [3]. In the end of January 2022, the Omicron variant, which is considered to have a higher transmission rate and lower severity rate than previous variants, spread. Living with COVID was maintained, with high vaccination rates and treatment dissemination [3]. In March 2022, the South Korean government requested the establishment of an autonomous preventative measure system for universities to mark the beginning of the semester which coincided with the fifth epidemic caused by the Omicron variant [5].