Seroepidemiological Survey of Scrub Typus in Korea, 1995-1996

Choi, M S; Chang, W J; Park, S K; Huh, M S; Kim, H R; Han, T H; Kim, I S

Abstract

To understand the seroepidemiological patterns of scrub typhus in Korea, a nation-wide survey collaborated with twenty clinical was carried out from 1995 to 1996. Sera of 1,094 patients with acute febrile episodes were tested by passive hemagglutination test and the seroepidemiological analysis including sex, age, seasonal and regional distribution were performed. According to the results obtained in thiss tudy, the epidemiological characteristics of scrub typhus in Korea were summarized as follows; 1. Seropositive rate of scub typhus among the patients with acute febrile episodes was 29.3% by the cut-off point of 1:40. 2. Among the seropositives, female outnumbered male and the proportion of males to females ratio was 1.2:1. 3. Most of the seropositives were over twenty years old. 4. The number of seropositive cases increased from Octobe and reached maximum in November and began to decrease rapidly from December. 5. The geographical distribution of the seropositives cove most areas exept Cheju province in Korea.