Community-Based Risk Communication Survey: Risk Prevention Behaviors in Communities during the H1N1 crisis, 2010

Kim, Soo Jeong; Han, Jin A.; Lee, Tae-Yong; Hwang, Tae-Yoon; Kwon, Keun-Sang; Park, Ki Soo; Lee, Kyung Jong; Kim, Moon Shik; Lee, Soon Young

The first definite H1N1 diagnosis occurred in Korea on May 1, 2009 and the first death occurred on August 15, 2009 . By June 12, 2010 there were a total of 263 H1N1 case-fatalities. Although the Korea Center of Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) downgraded the pandemic alert from "serious" to "attention" 5 months after the influenza was first reported in Korea, they recommend a continuation of preventive behaviors such as hand washing, using a tissue when coughing or sneezing, and reducing outings when experiencing respiratory symptoms. These recommendations, which were disseminated through the mass media, were given because the spread of influenza A/H1N1 virus and prevalence of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) had recently increased [2, 5] .