Authors
Su Jin Kim, Eun-Ji Choi, BooMi La, Deog-Yong Lee, Heui Man Kim, Hyuk Chu
Published in
Public health weekly report. Volume 19. Issue 23 Suppl. Pages 42-54. Epub Mar 24, 2026.
Abstract
To describe the operation of a laboratory-based measles surveillance system required to sustain measles elimination and to provide directions to reinforce molecular surveillance.
The study used a case-based surveillance system linked to the mandatory reporting of suspected measles cases. It employed measles-specific antibody testing and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for laboratory confirmation, enabling differentiation between wild-type and vaccine-associated cases. Positive specimens were subjected to N450 and non-coding region located between the Matrix and Fusion protein genes (MF-NCR) sequencing, and the obtained sequence data were submitted to the World Health Organization. Regular proficiency testing and training support laboratory capacity.
A total of 2,377 measles diagnostic tests were performed between 2021 and 2025. Of these specimens, 1,267 cases were tested in 2025, an increase of 130.4% from 2024. Genotyping was completed for 130 of the 135 confirmed cases, and genotypes B3 (74.6%) and D8 (25.4%) were identified. Genotype H1, which is historically endemic in the Republic of Korea (ROK), was not detected.
National laboratory-based surveillance supports the sustained elimination of measles by integrating diagnostic and molecular confirmation. However, the resolution of N450 and Sanger sequencing-based analysis is limited by reduced genotype diversity and sequence variation in the MF-NCR. Laboratory capacity must be maintained, and high-resolution MF-NCR analysis using NGS must be performed to sustain ROK's current measles elimination status.
PMID:
42339319
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Jun 2026.
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