Epidemiological characteristics of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae outbreaks in the Republic of Korea between 2017 and 2022.

Background: We aimed to describe the epidemiological characteristics of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) outbreaks in healthcare settings in the Republic of Korea between 2017 and 2022.

Methods: Under the national notifiable disease surveillance system, we obtained annual descriptive statistics regarding the isolated species, carbapenemase genotype, healthcare facility type, outbreak location and duration, and number of patients affected and recommended interventions. We used epidemiological investigation reports on CPE outbreaks reported to Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency from June 2017 to September 2022.

Genetic Characterization of Isolated from the First Case of Infant Botulism in Korea.

Botulism is a neuroparalytic disease caused by a neurotoxin produced by . This study aimed to genetically characterize strain isolated from the first case of infant botulism in Korea reported on June 17, 2019. We isolated strain CB-27 from a stool sample of the patient and analyzed the toxin types and toxin gene cluster compositions of the strain using a mouse bioassay, real-time PCR, and genome sequencing.

Contact Tracing during Coronavirus Disease Outbreak, South Korea, 2020.

We analyzed reports for 59,073 contacts of 5,706 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) index patients reported in South Korea during January 20-March 27, 2020. Of 10,592 household contacts, 11.8% had COVID-19.