Mini ReviewOpen Access

Status of Tuberculosis in South Korea and the Need for a New Method to Diagnose Active Tuberculosis

Volume 5 - Issue 1

So Hee Dho¹, Kyungjong Kim², Sung Hee Jung¹ and Jae Cheong Lim¹

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- ¹Radioisotope Research Division, Department of Research Reactor Utilization, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon 34057, Republic of Korea
- ²Department of Research and Development, Korean Institute of Tuberculosis, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea
*Corresponding author: Jae Cheong Lim, Radioisotope Research Division, Department of Research Reactor Utilization, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon 34057, Republic of Korea

Received: May 30, 2018; Published: June 05, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.05.001158

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Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health concern even in South Korea. TB incidence in South Korea is the highest among Organisation for Eoconomic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, and is supposed to be due to the Korean War in 1950. TB has not yet been eradicated, and is the most common infection and death among infectious diseases in South Korea. Therefore, there is a need for a method to diagnose active tuberculosis quickly and inexpensively on site, and the detection of mycobacterial proteins in sputum using a radioimmunoassay or membrane filtration method can be an alternative. In addition, the newly developed diagnostic method can contribute greatly to Africa, Southeast Asia, and North Korea, which have become major problems with tuberculosis.

Abbreviations: OECD: Organisation for Eoconomic Co-operation and Development; KCDC: Korea Centers for Disease Control