Masan Public Health Center: "Respiratory Infectious Diseases Spreading ... Please Follow Prevention Guidelines"

Adhering to Personal Hygiene Is Most Important

Masan Public Health Center in Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam, has urged students to strictly follow respiratory infection prevention guidelines, such as for pertussis and COVID-19, as the second semester begins and the risk of spreading these diseases in group settings increases.

Pertussis is a second-class notifiable infectious disease, typically characterized by paroxysmal coughing lasting more than two weeks, a "whoop" sound when breathing, and coughing accompanied by vomiting.

However, recently, many confirmed patients have not shown these clear clinical symptoms, with cases often being detected through mild coughing, which requires greater caution.

To prevent group outbreaks of pertussis and reduce the rate of severe illness, it is important to ▲seek medical attention if symptoms appear ▲receive antibiotic treatment and isolate for five days if infected ▲have household members of patients take preventive antibiotics ▲practice regular indoor ventilation ▲maintain personal hygiene (observe cough etiquette, wash hands, wear masks), among other guidelines.

Additionally, as a "multidemic" of COVID-19 and Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections is occurring simultaneously, it is an especially important time to adhere to respiratory infection prevention measures.

Lee Jiryeon, head of Masan Public Health Center, said, "In daily life, follow respiratory infection prevention guidelines such as wearing a mask, and if you have early symptoms like coughing or a runny nose, visit a medical institution immediately for treatment."