title: How Can We Identify the Elimination of Infectious Diseases? Experience From an Active Measles Laboratory Surveillance System in the Republic of Korea.
abstract: Global efforts have markedly decreased the disease burden of vaccine-preventable diseases. Many countries have made considerable progress toward the elimination of measles. As elimination is approached, the very low incidence achieved by high vaccination coverage has underscored the need for a sensitive and timely surveillance system. In the Republic of Korea, an active laboratory surveillance system (ALSS) was implemented to supplement the existing passive surveillance system in 2006. The ALSS connects 5 major commercial laboratories and the national measles reference laboratory, where referred samples with positive or equivocal results are retested. Annually, from 2009 to 2013, 3714 suspected cases were detected through the ALSS, an expansion of 8- to 57-fold, compared with only the passive surveillance system. The ALSS, with its sensitivity and timeliness, is a reasonable strategy to supplement the existing measles surveillance system and to help identify the elimination of measles.
authors.affiliation: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Un
authors.initials: TU
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hae Ji
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Eun
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Eom
authors.affiliation: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Joon
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ok
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Su Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Gu
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Soon
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea jeong68@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Eun Kyeong
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Jeong
mesh_terms: D003140:Communicable Disease Control; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D060740:Disease Eradication; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007753:Laboratories; D008457:Measles / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008458:Measles Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D008458:Measles Vaccine
keywords: disease elimination; epidemiology; measles; surveillance; vaccine-preventable disease