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KMID : 1143420180110421417
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Public Health Weekly Report
2018 Volume.11 No. 42 p.1417 ~ p.1421
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Geographical distribution of ticks in the Republic of Korea in 2018
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Noh Byung-Eon
Lee Wook-Gyo
Lee Hee-Il
Cho Shin-Hyeong
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Abstract
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Tick-borne diseases are caused by various pathogens, such as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus, arthropod-associated bacteria (e.g., Borrelia, Richettsia), and protozoan parasites (e.g., Babesia). Reported cases of diseases caused by these pathogens have been steadily on the increase in the Republic of Korea in recent year. The present study was conducted to monitor the distribution of ticks, which are the main vectors transmitting these pathogens. A flagging method was used in four different types of environments, including graveyards, mountain roads, copses, and grasslands, in 46 regions of the Republic of Korea. In total, 45,974 ticks belonging to five species and three genera were collected through this survey. Haemaphysalis longicornis was the predominant species at all collection sites, reaching abundances of 44,161 (96.1%) of the ticks found. The second most common species was H. flava (1,427 ticks; 3.1% of the total), followed by Ixodes nipponensis (310 ticks; 0.7%), H. japonica (66 ticks; 0.1%), and Amblyomma testudinarium (10 ticks; < 0.1%). The flag index (F.I.) was the highest in Gyeonggi-do (77.8), and the lowest in Seoul (0.1). The majority of ticks were collected in grassland environments (13,075 ticks; 28.4% of the total), followed by copses (12,377 ticks; 26.9%), mountain roads (10,641 ticks; 23.1%), and graveyards (9,881 ticks; 21.5%). The continuous surveillance of tick-borne diseases vectors is becoming increasingly important to geopathology in the Republic of Korea. Thus, efforts to expand the number and scale of collection sites and periods surveyed and monitored for ticks are necessary to protect public health.
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KEYWORD
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Tick-borne diseases, Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus, Geographical distribution
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