Concerns growing over cholera spread

Second case confirmed near southern coast

By Jung Min-ho

Concerns are growing over the spread of cholera in Korea, following the confirmation of a second case of the disease near the country’s south coast.

A 73-year-old woman living on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province, was confirmed to have been infected, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Thursday.

The announcement comes two days after the KCDC’s first confirmation of a cholera case in Korea in 15 years.

The fear is that cholera will spread to other neighboring regions as the KCDC is struggling to figure out how the patients were infected with cholera bacterium (Vibrio cholerae) in the first place.

The KCDC said the only common denominator between the two patients is Geoje Island — the first patient visited there, while the second is a resident. However, they ate different types of food at different places.

The woman started showing symptoms of cholera after eating mackerel on Aug. 14 at her church with 11 other people. She received treatment at a local hospital from Aug. 17 to 24. The KCDC said she has fully recovered.

The first patient, a 59-year-old man from the southwestern city of Gwangju, ate raw crab, abalone and sea bass with his family during his visit to the island and the southern coastal city of Tongyeong on Aug. 7 and 8.

The KCDC is conducting a medical check-up on those who ate with the patients; but no one has so far shown symptoms.

“We are trying to find whether bacteria from the two patients have the same genetic factors using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE),” said Kwak Sook-young, director of the KCDC’s infectious disease department, during a media briefing at KCDC headquarters in Osong, North Chungcheong Province.

PFGE is a laboratory technique to produce a DNA fingerprint for the separation of large DNA molecules.

Kwak said the first patient was confirmed to have been infected with Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor biotype, which was not found in previous cholera cases in Korea. The KCDC is trying to find out how he was infected with the bacterium.

“We have formed a special response team. In cooperation with provincial governments, we will test everyone having severe diarrhea for cholera, while strengthening monitoring of the situation,” she said.

Kwak urged the public to pay more attention to personal hygiene and be careful about what they eat and drink.

Cholera is transmitted largely through water contaminated with fecal bacteria, and most cases occur in underdeveloped countries that lack proper water treatment.

Even if more cases are found, experts believe it won’t be difficult to contain cholera, which is not an airborne disease.

In Korea, the last outbreak occurred in 2001, when 142 cases were confirmed within a month.