Gurye-gun Activates Emergency Quarantine System for Summer Season

Published 07 Jul.2023 14:57(KST)

Compliance with Prevention Guidelines for Waterborne and Foodborne Infectious Diseases

Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that waterborne and foodborne infectious diseases are particularly important to be cautious of during the summer season when monsoons and heatwaves alternate, and it will operate an emergency quarantine system.

The Gurye-gun Health and Medical Center will operate an emergency quarantine system from May to September this year to thoroughly prepare for waterborne and foodborne infectious diseases.

[Photo by Gurye-gun]

Waterborne and foodborne infectious diseases are illnesses caused by consuming water or food contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms.

When infected, symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting appear. Types include Vibrio sepsis, typhoid fever, bacterial dysentery, and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infections.

Among them, Vibrio sepsis, which has a fatality rate of over 30%, is mainly contracted by consuming seafood contaminated with microorganisms or by contact with seawater if there are skin wounds.

Immunocompromised individuals with underlying conditions such as chronic liver disease, diabetes, and alcoholism, who are high-risk groups, should be especially cautious.

Kim Hyeong-jin, Director of the Health and Medical Center, said, “▲Wash hands with soap under running water for more than 30 seconds ▲Boil water before drinking ▲Cook food hygienically and thoroughly (heat seafood to over 85℃) ▲Disinfect used cutting boards and knives and wash them under running tap water ▲Wash vegetables and fruits with clean water and peel before eating ▲Do not prepare food if you have diarrhea symptoms or hand wounds ▲Avoid contact with seawater if you have skin wounds. We ask for your cooperation in following these personal preventive measures in daily life to ensure a safe summer.”