evaluation of epidemic prevention abilities for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus in south korea

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (sars-cov-2) preferentially infects respiratory tract cells, but it has organotropism. middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (mers-cov) is significantly distinct from common cold and sars coronavirus. in past few years, the sars-cov-2 and mers-cov caused several deaths in south korea. the aim of current study was to assess sars-cov-2 and mers-cov awareness and epidemic prevention ability in south koreans.according to our results, out of 1500 participants, 98.8% and 64.3% were aware of sars-cov-2 and mers-cov, respectively. moreover, 97% of the participants used masks for prevention of airborne diseases, while 65.3% of the participants reused the same mask for several days. in addition, 50% of the participants were not satisfied with the government support. future viral epidemics can be prevented by disseminating advanced knowledge and awareness among general public.