전체메뉴
Article Search

KJASEM The Korean Journal of Aerospace and Environmental Medicine

QR Code QR Code

Article Tools

Article

Original Article

Epidemiological Aspects of Tsutsugamushi Disease (Scrub Typhus) Outbreaks in Republic of Korea and Japan

Myeong-Jin Lee, Ph.D.1 , Bok Soon Han, M.D., Ph.D.2 , Won-Chang Lee, Ph.D.3 , Young Hwan Kwon, M.D.4

1Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Otemae University, Osaka, Japan, 2Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 3College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, 4Aeromedical Center, Korean Air, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence to:
Young Hwan Kwon
Aeromedical Center, Korean Air, 260 Haneulgil, Gangseo-gu, Seoul 07505, Korea
Tel: +82-2-2656-7150
Fax: +82-2-2656-8848
E-mail: younghkwon@koreanair.com
Received: July 1, 2022; Revised: July 15, 2022; Accepted: July 18, 2022

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Korean J Aerosp Environ Med 2022; 32(2): 65-69

Published August 31, 2022 https://doi.org/10.46246/KJAsEM.220009

Copyright © Aerospace Medical Association of Korea.

Abstract

Go to
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the epidemiologic series of Tsutsugamushi disease (TD), also known as scrub typhus in the Republic of Korea (Korea) and Japan.
Methods: We investigated raw data of TD outbreaks from the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System of the Korea Diseases Control and Prevention Agency in Korea, and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan, 2016 to 2020.
Results: There were 36,785 cases of TD with a cumulative infectious rate (CIR) of 14.3 per 100,000 populations in Korea from 2016 to 2020. During the same period in Japan, there were 2,350 cases with a CIR of 0.4. When compared, Korea was much higher than that in Japan (P<0.01). In Korea, more females (60.2% of total cases) were infected than males (39.8%), while there was a significant difference between males (58.8%) and females (41.2%) in Japan, respectively (P<0.01).
Conclusion: These differences in TD risk factors reflect differences of vectors/hosts, climate, and geographical and cultural characteristics between the two countries. The surveillance of TD, primarily a zoonotic disease, should be continued in order to obtain a better understanding of its current status. Moreover, guidelines for the prevention of TD, and its control measures should be more established.

Keywords

Scrub typhus, Epidemiology, Risk factors, Republic of Korea, Japan

References

Go to
  1. Chang WH. Current status of Tsutsugamushi disease in Korea. J Korean Med Sci 1995;10:227-238. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.1995.10.4.227
    Pubmed PMC CrossRef
  2. Ikegaya S, Iwasaki H, Takada N, Yamamoto S, Ueda T. Tsutsugamushi disease caused by Shimokoshi-type Orientia tsutsugamushi: the first report in Western Japan. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2013;88:1217-1219. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.12-0740
    Pubmed PMC CrossRef
  3. Jeong MA, Youn SK, Kim YK, Lee H, Kim SJ, Sohn A. Trends in the incidence of scrub typhus: the fastest growing vector-borne disease in Korea. Osong Public Health Res Perspect 2013;4:166-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrp.2013.04.007
    Pubmed PMC CrossRef
  4. Bang HA, Lee MJ, Lee WC. Comparative research on epidemiological aspects of Tsutsugamushi disease (scrub typhus) between Korea and Japan. Jpn J Infect Dis 2008;61:148-150.
  5. Munro-faure AD, Andrew R, Missen GA, Mackay-Dick J. Scrub typhus in Korea. J R Army Med Corps 1951;97:227-229.
  6. Lee JS, Ahn C, Kim YK, Lee M. Thirteen cases of Rickettsial infection including nine cases of Tsutsugamushi disease first confirmed in Korea. J Korean Med Assoc 1986;29:430-438.
  7. Jackson EB, Danauskas JX, Smadel JE, Fuller HS, Coale MC, Bozeman FM. Occurrence of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi in Korean rodents and chiggers. Am J Hyg 1957;66:309-320. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a119904
    Pubmed CrossRef
  8. Kawamura R. Studies on Tsutsugamushi disease (Japanese blood fever). Cincinnati: Spokesman Printing Company; 1926. pp. 2.
  9. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. “Tsutsugamushi disease (scrub typhus)” the national notifiable disease surveillance system [Internet]. Cheongju: Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency; 2011-2020 [updated 2022 May 6; cited 2022 May 13]. Available from: https://www.kdca.go.kr/contents.es?mid=a20301110200.
  10. National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan. Tsutsugamushi disease [Internet]. Tokyo: National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan; 2016-2020 [updated 2022 May 3; cited 2022 May 10]. Available from: https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/ja/diseases/ta/tsutsugamushi.html.
  11. Kim DM, Kim KY, Nam HS, Kweon SS, Park MY, Ryu SY. Risk-factors for human infection with Orientia tsutsugamushi: a case-control study in Korea. Clin Microbiol Infect 2008;14:174-177. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-0691.2007.01901.x
    Pubmed CrossRef
  12. Ogawa M, Hagiwara T, Kishimoto T, Shiga S, Yoshida Y, Furuya Y, et al. Scrub typhus in Japan: epidemiology and clinical features of cases reported in 1998. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2002;67:162-165. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2002.67.162
    Pubmed CrossRef
  13. Ma CJ, Oh GJ, Kang GU, Lee JM, Lee DU, Nam HS, et al. Differences in agricultural activities related to incidence of scrub typhus between Korea and Japan. Epidemiol Health 2017;39:e2017051. https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2017051
    Pubmed PMC CrossRef
  14. Kweon SS, Choi JS, Lim HS, Kim JR, Kim KY, Ryu SY, et al. Rapid increase of scrub typhus, South Korea, 2001-2006. Emerg Infect Dis 2009;15:1127-1129. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1507.080399
    Pubmed PMC CrossRef

Related articles in KJASEM

More Related Articles