title: Association of temperature and historical dynamics of malaria in the Republic of Korea, including reemergence in 1993.
abstract: Plasmodium vivax malaria reemerged in the Republic of Korea in 1993 after it had been declared malaria free in 1979. Malaria rapidly increased and peaked in 2000 with 4,142 cases with lower but variable numbers of cases reported through 2011. We examined the association of regional climate trends over the Korean Peninsula relative to malaria cases in U.S. military and Republic of Korea soldiers, veterans, and civilians from 1950 to 2011. Temperatures and anomaly trends in air temperature associated with satellite remotely sensed outgoing long-wave radiation were used to observe temporal changes. These changes, particularly increasing air temperatures, in combination with moderate rains throughout the malaria season, and distribution of malaria vectors, likely supported the 1993 reemergence and peaks in malaria incidence that occurred through 2011 by accelerating the rate of parasite development in mosquitoes and increased numbers as a result of an expansion of larval habitat, thereby increasing the vectorial capacity of Anopheles vectors. High malaria rates associated with a favorable climate were similarly observed during the Korean War. These findings support the need for increased investigations into malaria predictive models using climate-related variables.
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608.
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Linthicum
authors.affiliation: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Building 33, Room F124 (MC 614.4), Greenbelt, MD 20771.
authors.forename: Assaf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Anyamba
authors.affiliation: Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, 620 John Paul Jones Circle, Portsmouth, VA 23708.
authors.forename: Bradley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Killenbeck
authors.affiliation: Division of Malaria and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Health, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Osong, Cheongwon-gun, Chungcheongbuk Province, 363-951, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Ja
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Public Health Command Region-Pacific, Camp Zama, Japan, 65th Medical Brigade, Unit 15281, Box 754, APO AP 96205-5281.
authors.forename: Hee Choon S
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Public Health Command Region-Pacific, Camp Zama, Japan, 65th Medical Brigade, Unit 15281, Box 754, APO AP 96205-5281.
authors.forename: Terry A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: 5th Medical Detachment, 168th Multifunctional Medical Battalion, 65th Medical Brigade, Unit 15247, APO AP 96205-5247.
authors.forename: Heung-Chul
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, 11800 Tech Road, Suite 220, Silver Spring, MD 20904-7910.
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pavlin
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608.
authors.forename: Seth C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Britch
authors.affiliation: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Building 33, Room F124 (MC 614.4), Greenbelt, MD 20771.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Small
authors.affiliation: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Building 33, Room F124 (MC 614.4), Greenbelt, MD 20771.
authors.forename: Compton J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.affiliation: Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, 11800 Tech Road, Suite 220, Silver Spring, MD 20904-7910.
authors.forename: Joel C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Gaydos
mesh_terms: D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D016780:Malaria, Vivax / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history*; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000266:history*; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D013696:Temperature