[의학신문·일간보사=차원준 기자] A research paper on the analysis of parainfluenza epidemic trends conducted by the Gwangju Metropolitan City Health and Environment Research Institute was recently published in the international scientific journal ‘Viruses (Impact factor: 5.818)’.
This paper is regarding the analysis of parainfluenza virus isolated from parainfluenza-positive patients for the past 4 years from 2018 to 2021 before and following the COVID-19 pandemic while the City Health and Environment Research Institute is conducting an ‘influenza and respiratory virus monitoring project’ throughout the year with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It contains the results of analyzing molecular dynamics, etc.
Parainfluenza virus is a virus that causes upper and lower respiratory tract infections, and is known not only to be the most common cause of laryngitis in children, but also to cause immunosuppression in adults and severe pneumonia in patients.
In the research paper, it was confirmed that parainfluenza, which was prevalent in 2018 and March-July 2019, before Corona 19, did not spread in 2020 due to the Corona 19 quarantine guidelines, but became prevalent in September-November 2021.
In particular, it was revealed that before Corona 19, viruses with various genotypes were prevalent in Gwangju, whereas in 2021, a new, previously unidentified single type of virus was prevalent in Gwangju.
Kim Seon-hee, head of the Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Institute of Health and Environment, said, “Through this study, we find that the introduction of a new type of virus can disrupt the community’s collective immune system and lead to a cluster outbreak, causing great social and economic loss, and continuous monitoring of respiratory infectious disease pathogens. I have reaffirmed the need for it,” he said.
