Epidemiologic characteristics of scrub typhus on Jeju Island.

Sung Uk Lee

doi:10.4178/epih.e2017060r

Abstract

Objectives Scrub typhus is the most common febrile disease in Korea during the autumn. Jeju Island is the largest island in South Korea and has a distinctive oceanic climate. This study aimed to identify epidemiologic characteristics of scrub typhus on Jeju Island. Methods From January 2011 to December 2016, 446 patients were diagnosed with scrub typhus on Jeju Island. The patients' personal data and the environmental factors that might be related to scrub typhus were investigated and retrospectively analyzed. Results The median age of the patients was 58-years-old (range, 8 to 91) and 43% of them worked in the agricultural, forestry or livestock industry. Regardless of their job, 87% of the patients had a history of either working outdoors or of other activities before developing scrub typhus. The south and southeast regions of Jeju Island, especially Namwon-eup, showed the highest incidence of scrub typhus. Workers in mandarin orange orchards seemed to be the highest risk group for scrub typhus infection. Conclusions Scrub typhus on Jeju Island showed unique characteristics. To efficiently prevent scrub typhus, each year individual regional approaches should be developed based on the epidemiologic characteristics of the disease.

Highlights

In the article [1], patient and disease characteristics were examined in 446 patients with scrub typhus that occurred in the Jeju area between 2011 and 2016
The author of the present study aimed to examine whether the annual incidence rates per 100,000 population were significantly different between two independent areas, A and B, during the 6 years
Using Mann-Whitney U-test in such a case is recommended in the reference cited by the reader

Summary

Introduction

In the article [1], patient and disease characteristics were examined in 446 patients with scrub typhus that occurred in the Jeju area between 2011 and 2016. In comparison to the crude incidence in the original manuscript [1], there were clear number changes (mostly increases) in ‘eub’ and ‘myeon’ regions than ‘dong’ regions. We could observe the same trend as that in the original manuscript [1] by comparing both incidence rates by region and between regions.

Results

Conclusion