A study on the seasonality of scabies as temperature changes in South Korea, 2010–2017

Abstract

TPS 662: Climate change effects on labour, migration and infections, Exhibition Hall, Ground floor, August 28, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Background/Aim: Scabies is a parasitic skin infection with intense itching. Scabies infestation impairs the quality of life seriously, while the outbreaks at medical institutions causes financial loss. The study aimed at annual and seasonal trends in the prevalence of scabies in the total Korean population. Methods: Scabies cases were extracted from the National Health Insurance Service and their epidemiological characteristics were evaluated. To analyze the occurrence season of scabies, temperature and humidity were included as weather factors, and the overall decreasing trend of prevalence was adjusted by the gross national income index per person. Results: The annual prevalence by age group was 0.56-0.69 per 1,000 persons up to the age of 40 and gradually increased to 3.0-4.1 per 1,000 persons in age group over 80. The female-to-male ratio of people with scabies continues to increase. The number of women diagnosed with scabies in 2017 was 1.33 times higher than that of men. Scabies at the time of diagnosis was the least common in spring and the most frequent in autumn. The average number of scabies diagnosed was about 4,000 cases when the average temperature of two months ago was less than 5 °C, and more than 6,000 cases when the temperature of two months ago exceeded 25 °C. Conclusions: This study analyzed the epidemiological characteristics of all scabies cases throughout the country for eight years, and presented the seasonal trend related to the occurrence of scabies cases due to temperature changes, so it will help to establish management policies that reflect the spatio-temporal characteristics of scabies outbreaks.