North Korea Faces Infectious Disease Outbreak Amid COVID Fight

In this photo released by Kyodo on May 23, 2022, a sign depicting a scene of transporting medical supplies can be seen on the empty street amid growing fears about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Pyongyang, North Korea. Kyodo via REUTERS

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SEOUL, June 16 (Reuters) – North Korea on Thursday reported the outbreak of an unidentified enteric epidemic in an agricultural region, further straining the isolated country as it battles chronic food shortages and an unprecedented wave of COVID-19 infections.

Leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday sent medicines to the western port city of Haeju to help patients suffering from the “acute enteric epidemic,” state news agency KCNA said, without naming the number of people affected or identifying the disease.

The term enteric refers to the gastrointestinal tract.

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“(Kim) stressed the need to contain the epidemic at the earliest opportunity by taking a well-designed measure of quarantining suspected cases to thoroughly contain their spread and confirming cases through epidemiological investigations and scientific testing,” KCNA said.

The reported outbreak comes as the North battles its first outbreak of COVID-19 infections. It declared a state of emergency last month amid concerns about a shortage of vaccines and medical supplies.

South Korea’s spy agency previously told lawmakers that waterborne diseases like typhoid were already rampant in the country before announcing the coronavirus outbreak.

“Intestinal diseases like typhoid and shigellosis are not particularly new to North Korea, but it is worrying that they are emerging at a time when the country is already struggling with COVID-19,” said Professor Shin Young-jeon of Hanyang’s College of Medicine University in Seoul.

South Korea is ready to work with the North to combat the outbreak of the disease, but Pyongyang remains unresponsive to offers of dialogue, including Seoul’s earlier proposal to provide COVID vaccines, an official with South Korea’s unification ministry, who deals with inter-Korean affairs, said declined to be named.

In addition, South Hwanghae province, where the city of Haeju is located, is North Korea’s most important agricultural region, raising concerns about the potential impact of a drought on the country’s already poor nutritional situation.

While the unspecified disease seems unlikely to be spread through crops, the key will be disinfecting water supply sources since it’s likely waterborne, said Eom Joong-sik, an infectious disease expert at Gil Medical Center’s Gachon University.

Pyongyang has announced daily the number of fever patients without naming them as COVID patients, apparently due to a lack of testing kits. Experts also suspect underreporting in government-controlled media published figures.

North Korea on Thursday reported 26,010 more people with fever symptoms, bringing the total number of fever patients registered nationwide since late April to nearly 4.56 million. The death toll linked to the outbreak stands at 73.

The North has said the COVID wave has shown signs of abating, but the World Health Organization earlier this month cast doubt on Pyongyang’s claims and said it believes the situation is worsening. Continue reading

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Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Adaptation of Lincoln Feast.

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