Park Jae-Sun, Kim Gab Jung, Lee Sang Won
Emerg Infect Dis. 2025 Aug;31(8):1-8. doi: 10.3201/eid3108.241745.
The rapid expansion of testing capacity is imperative for an adequate response to infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. South Korea rapidly secured large-scale testing during the early stages of COVID-19 in 2020 by leveraging the country's experience with the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak; the initial response was relatively successful. A key difference between the 2 outbreak responses was the expansion from public to private testing laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic. Expanding testing capacity during an infectious disease crisis should involve consideration of the overall response system and social conditions and not just the number of patients. If there are concerns about a crisis developing, testing capacity expansion should begin as soon as possible. Furthermore, accuracy should be ensured, especially when testing capacity is expanded. South Korea's experience in developing diagnostic systems and adopting testing strategies underscores the value of proactive and well-timed preparedness for emerging infection disease outbreaks.
迅速扩大检测能力对于充分应对诸如新冠肺炎等传染病至关重要。韩国在2020年新冠肺炎疫情早期，借助该国应对2015年中东呼吸综合征疫情的经验，迅速确保了大规模检测；初期应对相对成功。这两次疫情应对的一个关键差异在于，在新冠肺炎疫情期间检测从公共实验室扩展到了私人实验室。在传染病危机期间扩大检测能力应考虑整体应对系统和社会状况，而不仅仅是患者数量。如果担心危机出现，应尽快开始扩大检测能力。此外，尤其在扩大检测能力时应确保准确性。韩国在开发诊断系统和采用检测策略方面的经验凸显了对新发传染病疫情进行积极且及时准备的价值。
