Standard operating procedures for the collection, processing, and storage of oral biospecimens at the Korea Oral Biobank Network

PURPOSE

The Korea Oral Biobank Network (KOBN) was established in 2021 as a branch of the Korea Biobank Network under the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide infrastructure for the collection, management, storage, and utilization of human bioresources from the oral cavity and associated clinical data for basic research and clinical studies.

METHODS

To address the need for the unification of the biobanking process, the KOBN organized the concept review for all the processes.

RESULTS

The KOBN established standard operating procedures for the collection, processing, and storage of oral samples.

CONCLUSIONS

The importance of collecting high-quality bioresources to generate accurate and reproducible research results has always been emphasized. A standardized procedure is a basic prerequisite for implementing comprehensive quality management of biological resources and accurate data production.

The South Korean Government's Response to Combat COVID-19 Misinformation: Analysis of "Fact and Issue Check" on the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website

This study aimed to examine the types of misinformation spreading in South Korea during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic by exploring the fact-checking posts uploaded on the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) website. We conducted a content analysis of the posts written on the KCDC website titled, "COVID-19: Fact and Issue Check," from February to August 2020 (n = 81). Two coders individually coded the posts using a codebook. Discrepancies in coding were discussed to reach reconciliation. Fifteen different Korean government agencies used the KCDC platform to refute various topics of COVID-19 misinformation, including policy (42.0%), how to prevent the spread (16.0%), health care professionals (12.3%), testing (11.1%), prevention (self-care) (9.9%), masks (8.6%), confirmed cases (8.6%), statistics (3.7%), self-quarantine (2.5%), and treatment (1.2%). We found that there are more dissemination and correction of nonmedical areas of COVID-19 misinformation than medical areas in Korea. Future studies need to examine to what extent the corrected COVID-19 misinformation has been disseminated on different social media platforms, beyond the KCDC website.

Activities of the korean institute of tuberculosis

The Korean National Tuberculosis Association (KNTA) set up the Korean Institute of Tuberculosis (KIT) in 1970 to foster research and technical activities pertaining to tuberculosis (TB). The KNTA/KIT had successfully conducted a countrywide TB prevalence survey from 1965 to 1995 at 5-year intervals. The survey results (decline in TB rates) established Korea as a country that had successfully implemented national control programs for TB. The KIT developed the Korea Tuberculosis Surveillance System and the Laboratory Management Information System, both of which were transferred to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after its establishment. The KIT functions as a central and supranational reference TB laboratory for microbiological and epidemiological research and provides training and education for health-care workers and medical practitioners. Recently, the KIT has expanded its activities to countries such as Ethiopia, Laos, and Timor-Leste to support TB control and prevention. The KIT will continue to support research activities and provide technical assistance in diagnosing the infection until it is completely eliminated in Korea.

Accuracy of diagnostic methods and surveillance sensitivity for human enterovirus, South Korea, 1999-2011

The epidemiology of enteroviral infection in South Korea during 1999-2011 chronicles nationwide outbreaks and changing detection and subtyping methods used over the 13-year period. Of 14,657 patients whose samples were tested, 4,762 (32.5%) samples were positive for human enterovirus (human EV); as diagnostic methods improved, the rate of positive results increased. A seasonal trend of outbreaks was documented. Genotypes enterovirus 71, echovirus 30, coxsackievirus B5, enterovirus 6, and coxsackievirus B2 were the most common genotypes identified. Accurate test results correlated clinical syndromes to enterovirus genotypes: aseptic meningitis to echovirus 30, enterovirus 6, and coxsackievirus B5; hand, foot and mouth disease to coxsackievirus A16; and hand, foot and mouth disease with neurologic complications to enterovirus 71. There are currently no treatments specific to human EV infections; surveillance of enterovirus infections such as this study provides may assist with evaluating the need to research and develop treatments for infections caused by virulent human EV genotypes.