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Review
. 2019 Dec;51(4):414-426.
doi: 10.3947/ic.2019.51.4.414. Epub 2019 Nov 28.

Modern History of Tuberculosis in Korea

Jae Hoon Song  1 , Kyungmin Huh  2   3 , Doo Ryeon Chung  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Modern History of Tuberculosis in Korea

Jae Hoon Song et al. Infect Chemother. 2019 Dec.

Erratum in

Abstract

Tuberculosis has been a major public health threat in modern Korea. A few reports from the mid-1940s have demonstrated a high prevalence of latent and active tuberculosis infections. The high disease burden urged the newly established government to place a high priority on tuberculosis control. The government led a nationwide effort to control tuberculosis by building dedicated hospitals, conducting mass screening, providing technical and material support for microbiological diagnosis, administering Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination, and improving appropriate antibiotic treatment through public health centers. Such concerted efforts resulted in a gradual decrease in the disease burden of tuberculosis, as demonstrated by National Tuberculosis Prevalence Surveys and notifiable disease statistics. While great progress has been made, new challenges - including an aging population, outbreaks in schools and healthcare facilities, and migration from high-prevalence countries - lie ahead. Here, we review the modern history of tuberculosis in Korea, focusing on epidemiology and public health policies.

Keywords: Control; Epidemiology; History; Public health; Tuberculosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Age-standardized distribution of the proportion of tuberculosis patients reported by year (relative to the population in 2005).
Source: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2016 Annual Report on Notified Tuberculosis in Korea.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Distribution of new tuberculosis patients by sex/age.
Source: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2016 Annual Report on Notified Tuberculosis in Korea.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Three hundred fifty thousand patients with a nation-ruining disease [Korean] The Dong-A Ilbo. 1949 Feb 16;