Epidemiological Characteristics and Risk Factors of Dengue Infection in Korean Travelers.
Dengue viral infection has rapidly spread around the world in recent decades. In Korea, autochthonous cases of dengue fever have not been confirmed yet. However, imported dengue cases have been increased since 2001. The risk of developing severe dengue in Korean has been increased by the accumulation of past-infected persons with residual antibodies to dengue virus and the remarkable growth of traveling to endemic countries in Southeast Asia. Notably, most of imported dengue cases were identified from July to December, suggesting that traveling during rainy season of Southeast Asia is considered a risk factor for dengue infection. Analyzing national surveillance data from 2011 to 2015, males aged 20-29 years are considered as the highest risk group. But considering the age and gender distribution of travelers, age groups 10-49 except 20-29 years old males have similar risks for infection. To minimize a risk of dengue fever and severe dengue, travelers should consider regional and seasonal dengue situation. It is recommended to prevent from mosquito bites or to abstain from repetitive visit to endemic countries. In addition, more active surveillance system and monitoring the prevalence asymptomatic infection and virus serotypes are required to prevent severe dengue and indigenous dengue outbreak.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Global Center for Infectious Diseases, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Korea.
Sungmo
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6995-6380
S
Je
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Global Center for Infectious Diseases, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Korea.
Wonjun
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3271-9349
W
Bae
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Global Center for Infectious Diseases, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Korea.
Jiyeon
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3885-7187
J
Kim
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Global Center for Infectious Diseases, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Korea.
Seung Hyeok
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4315-0688
SH
Seok
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Global Center for Infectious Diseases, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Korea. hesss@snu.ac.kr.
Eung Soo
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9562-4577
ES
Hwang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D044466:Asian People; D002648:Child; D003715:Dengue / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D014195:Travel; D055815:Young Adult
D000914:Antibodies, Viral
Dengue Fever; Mosquito-Borne Disease; Prevention; Risk Factor