Korean J Aerosp Environ Med.  2022 Aug;32(2):65-69. 10.46246/KJAsEM.220009.

Epidemiological Aspects of Tsutsugamushi Disease (Scrub Typhus) Outbreaks in Republic of Korea and Japan

• Lee MJ
• Han BS
• Lee WC
• Kwon YH

• KMID: 2539373
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.46246/KJAsEM.220009

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the epidemiologic series of Tsutsugamushi disease (TD), also known as scrub typhus in the Republic of Korea (Korea) and Japan.
Methods
We investigated raw data of TD outbreaks from the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System of the Korea Diseases Control and Prevention Agency in Korea, and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan, 2016 to 2020.
Results
There were 36,785 cases of TD with a cumulative infectious rate (CIR) of 14.3 per 100,000 populations in Korea from 2016 to 2020. During the same period in Japan, there were 2,350 cases with a CIR of 0.4. When compared, Korea was much higher than that in Japan (P<0.01). In Korea, more females (60.2% of total cases) were infected than males (39.8%), while there was a significant difference between males (58.8%) and females (41.2%) in Japan, respectively (P<0.01).
Conclusion
These differences in TD risk factors reflect differences of vectors/hosts, climate, and geographical and cultural characteristics between the two countries. The surveillance of TD, primarily a zoonotic disease, should be continued in order to obtain a better understanding of its current status. Moreover, guidelines for the prevention of TD, and its control measures should be more established.

Keyword

Scrub typhus; Epidemiology; Risk factors; Republic of Korea; Japan