title: Assessing the impact of meteorological factors on malaria patients in demilitarized zones in Republic of Korea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The trend of military patients becoming infected with vivax malaria reemerged in the Republic of Korea (ROK) in 1993. The common explanation has been that infective Anopheles mosquitoes from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have invaded Republic of Korea's demilitarized zone (DMZ). The aim of this study was to verify the relationship between meteorological factors and the number of malaria patients in the military in this region.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors estimated the effects of meteorological factors on vivax malaria patients from the military based on the monthly number of malaria cases between 2006 and 2011. Temperature, precipitation, snow depth, wind velocity, relative humidity, duration of sunshine, and cloud cover were selected as the meteorological factors to be studied. A systematic pattern in the spatial distribution of malaria cases was assessed using the Moran's Index. Granger causality tests and cross-correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the relationship between meteorological factors and malaria patients in the military.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Spatial analysis revealed significant clusters of malaria patients in the military in Republic of Korea in 2011 (Moran's I = 0.136, p-value = 0.026). In the six years investigated, the number of malaria patients in the military in Paju decreased, but the number of malaria patients in the military in Hwacheon and Chuncheon increased. Monthly average, maximum and minimum temperatures; wind velocity; and relative humidity were found to be predicting factors of malaria in patients in the military in Paju. In contrast, wind velocity alone was not able to predict malaria in Hwacheon and Chuncheon, however, precipitation and cloud cover were able to predict malaria in Hwacheon and Chuncheon.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that the number of malaria patients in the military is correlated with meteorological factors. The variation in occurrence of malaria cases was principally attributed to differences in meteorological factors by regions of Republic of Korea.
authors.affiliation: Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health & Welfare, Osong, Republic of Korea. neofreud@hanmail.net.|Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. neofreud@hanmail.net.|Department of Preventive Medicine, Armed Forces Medical Command, Seongnam, Republic of Korea. neofreud@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Se-Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. yoonsj02@korea.ac.kr.|Department of Health Policy and Hospital Management, Graduate School of Public Health, Korea University, 73 Inchon-ro., Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul, 136-705, Republic of Korea. yoonsj02@korea.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Seok-Joon
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Korea Armed Forces Nursing Academy, 90 Jaun-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-153, Republic of Korea. ymjungbest@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yoo-Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Osong, Republic of Korea. majkmo@naver.com.
authors.forename: Geun-Yong
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Osong, Republic of Korea. breadtic@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Soo-Nam
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.affiliation: Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Osong, Republic of Korea. jyjcy9095@naver.com.
authors.forename: Eun-Jeong
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Hospital Management, Graduate School of Public Health, Korea University, 73 Inchon-ro., Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul, 136-705, Republic of Korea. karlfreud@naver.com.|Korea Armed Forces Nursing Academy, 90 Jaun-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-153, Republic of Korea. karlfreud@naver.com.
authors.forename: Myoung-Ok
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons; D055815:Young Adult