New Coronavirus Epidemiologist: "Speed is Key in Epidemiological Investigations"

Interview with Head of Patient Management Team 2 at Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters
Immediate Dispatch for Patient Movement and Contact Tracing

Screening clinic installed in front of Jung-gu Public Health Center in Seoul

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Lee Jung-yoon] "For existing infectious diseases, it is possible to respond by dispatching teams the day after receiving a report, but with the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), symptoms may have appeared before confirmation, and it could have been transmitted to someone else, so a rapid dispatch is necessary. There is a time pressure, so above all, it is important to move systematically as a team."

On the 12th, Park Young-jun, Team Leader of Patient Management Team 2 at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, emphasized speed as the key to epidemiological investigations in an interview with the press. As the novel coronavirus situation escalates with successive patients emerging, the importance of epidemiological investigations to identify infection routes and prevent further spread has grown more than ever. Epidemiologists at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, including Team Leader Park, immediately dispatch to the field as soon as a patient is confirmed, working with local public health centers and local governments to trace the patient's movements and contacts.

Since infectious diseases have a high possibility of spreading to those nearby, it is essential to thoroughly investigate everyone the patient contacted from just before symptoms appeared until isolation. According to Team Leader Park, the method of identifying contacts by reviewing CCTV footage, as well as mobile phone and credit card usage records, is a rare investigative approach even overseas.

He explained, "Basically, the investigation is based on in-depth interviews with the patient, but to secure objective evidence, verification through CCTV and card usage records must be conducted simultaneously. If we only investigate based on what the patient says, there can be gaps, so we reasonably suspect and infer how the patient moved and behaved in daily life to draw conclusions."

Park Young-jun, Team Leader of Patient Management Team 2 at the Central Disease Control Headquarters of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency

For example, if the patient lives in an apartment, they likely used the elevator, so it is necessary to check whether they rode with anyone at that time. If the patient stated that symptoms began at a certain time, but it is confirmed they visited a pharmacy earlier, the onset time of symptoms should be adjusted accordingly. Team Leader Park said, "In infectious disease cases, it is not an individual's fault, but during investigations, some people refuse to cooperate or protest as if they are being treated like criminals," adding, "We persuade them by emphasizing that epidemiological investigations serve the public interest."

Team Leader Park is a preventive medicine specialist who also experienced the Central Disease Control Headquarters during the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak. Since it is impossible to predict when patients will appear, most of the time recently, they remain on standby at the Disease Control Headquarters. When a patient emerges, they immediately conduct a basic epidemiological investigation, instruct the field team and local governments on preparations, and form a team of about 10 people along with a field situation room. According to Team Leader Park, about 24 hours after a patient appears must be fully focused on field response.

Although the speed of identifying infection routes, patient movements, and contacts has improved compared to the past, there remains a significant dilemma in how much patient information should be disclosed. Team Leader Park said, "From the public perspective of preventing infectious diseases in advance, disclosure is desirable, but it also involves elements of invading the patient's privacy," adding, "Many cases lie on the borderline of information the public needs, and there is insufficient time for thorough review, so we are repeatedly faced with situations requiring immediate judgment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.