title: Comparative study on the epidemiological aspects of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infections between Korea and Japan, 2006 to 2010.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the epidemiological aspects of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) between Korea and Japan by analyzing the current state of EHEC infection outbreaks and related risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated the epidemiological aspects of EHEC infection cases between Korea and Japan from 2006 to 2010. The following factors were analyzed: national prevalence rate (PR), regional prevalence rate, epidemic aspects (i.e., Cases related to gender), male to female morbidity ratio, age, and seasonal distribution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, there were 254 cases of EHEC with an average PR of 0.11 per 100,000 populations in Korea from 2006 to 2010. During the same period in Japan, there were 20,883 cases of EHEC with an average PR of 3.26 per 100,000 populations. The PR in Japan was significantly higher than that in Korea (p < 0.01). In both countries, more females than males had EHEC infections, with the highest incidence of infections (> 50%) observed for individuals younger than 9 years. EHEC is an emerging zoonosis and may be caused by consumption of raw or undercooked meat products from ruminants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides a quantitative analysis of the epidemiological aspects and risk factors of EHEC infections in Korea and Japan and will provide insight on effective future strategies to reduce these infections.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Chang
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Aeromedical Center of Korean Air, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Hwan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D003296:Cooking; D054324:Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D005260:Female; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult; D015047:Zoonoses
keywords: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli; Epidemiologic studies; Japan; Korea; Outbreaks