Current situation of scrub typhus in South Korea from 2001-2013.
BACKGROUND
The bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi is the causative agent of scrub typhus, mite-borne disease, which causes an acute febrile illness in patients. An epidemiologic study was conducted to understand the characteristics of scrub typhus in South Korea.


RESULTS
Reporting of tsutsugamushi disease is mandatory in South Korea since 1994. To investigate the prevalence of tsutsugamushi disease from 2001 to 2013, medical records from the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention were reviewed. In total, 70,914 cases were reported during 2001-2013. Of these, 37.16% (26,349) were male and 62.84% (44,565) were female. The highest number of cases was in the 60-69-year-old age group (19,484; 27.48%), and 72.22% (51,212) were in the 50-79-year-old age group. There were 65,100 cases (91.80%) reported during October (24,964; 35.20%) and November (40,136; 56.60%). An almost four-fold increase in the number of patients was observed in 2013 (10,485 cases) compared to 2001 (2,637 cases). The highest number of patients was reported in the Jeonbuk (9,425; 13.29%) and lowest in the Jeju (362; 0.51%).


CONCLUSIONS
A rapid increase in the incidence of patients with tsutsugamushi disease was observed in most areas from 2001 to 2013, with the majority of cases reported in the western and southern coast.
Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA. rainlee67@naver.com.
Hyeong-Woo
HW
Lee
Departments of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, 400-712, Republic of Korea. chopy74@daum.net.
Pyo Yun
PY
Cho
Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, 463-939, Korea. mboy2@korea.com.
Sung-Ung
SU
Moon
Department of Parasitology and Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, 660-751, Korea. bkna@gnu.ac.kr.
Byoung-Kuk
BK
Na
Department of Biomedical Science, Jungwon University, Goesan, Chungbuk, 367-805, Republic of Korea. yjkang@jwu.ac.kr.
Yoon-Joong
YJ
Kang
Department of Anatomy, College of Korean Medicine, Institute of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 130-701, Korea. youngjoos@khu.ac.kr.
Youngjoo
Y
Sohn
Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health, Osong, 363-951, Republic of Korea. yunki7777@naver.com.
Seung-Ki
SK
Youn
Department of Public Health, Sahmyook University, Seoul, 139-742, Republic of Korea. jnh3549@naver.com.
Yeongseon
Y
Hong
Departments of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, 400-712, Republic of Korea. tongsookim@inha.ac.kr.
Tong-Soo
TS
Kim
D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012737:Sex Factors