As temperatures rise, the risk of food poisoning increases. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) emphasized that if two or more people exhibit symptoms like diarrhea or vomiting after eating the same food, they should immediately report it to a health center.
The KDCA announced that due to the increased possibility of water-borne or food-borne infectious diseases caused by bacteria or microorganisms in water or food, a ‘summer emergency quarantine system’ will be in operation from May 1 to October 12.
With warmer weather and an increase in group gatherings and domestic and international travel in the family month, the KDCA warned that there could be more cases of water-borne or food-borne infectious diseases occurring in clusters.
Last year, there were 529 cases of group outbreaks from water-borne and food-borne infectious diseases, affecting 12,094 patients.
This represents an increase of 10.4% in cases and 55.0% in patients compared to the five-year average from 2019 to 2023, which recorded 479 cases and 7,801 patients.
To detect and respond quickly to outbreaks of water-borne and food-borne infectious diseases, the KDCA plans to conduct emergency operations in cooperation with regional and local health centers nationwide.
Local governments will have emergency operations from 9 AM to 8 PM on weekdays and until 4 PM on weekends and holidays, maintaining an emergency contact system during other hours.
The KDCA will also operate a 24-hour comprehensive situation room to ensure swift responses.
Ji Young-mi, the head of the KDCA, emphasized the importance of quickly reporting to the nearest health center if two or more people exhibit symptoms like diarrhea or vomiting after a group outbreak. She also urged adherence to basic preventive measures such as boiling water before drinking, thoroughly cooking food, and washing hands with soap under running water for at least 30 seconds.
(Photo provided by KDCA, Yonhap News)