Emerging Parasitic Diseases in Korea

ABSTRACT

Parasitic diseases of the Korean people have remarkably changed in terms of the kinds of major parasites and the prevalence of each parasite species. In particular, after the 1970~ 80s, the prevalence of soil-transmitted nematode infections became very low, and instead, those diseases that had been veiled by the soil-transmitted nematodes became unveiled and attention is paid to these parasitic infections. It is also of note that various kinds of new parasitic infections emerged, and malaria that disappeared in the late 1970s re-emerged after 1993. The number of parasite species that emerged or re-emerged since 1980 is at least 36 species. Among them, protozoan species include Acanthamoeba spp., Babesia spp., Plasmodium vivax, Cryptosporidium hominis, and Cryptosporidium parvum. Nematode species are Capillaria hepatica, Toxocara canis, Toxocara cati, Ancylostoma caninum, Ancylostoma braziliense, Mammomonogamus laryngeus, Pseudoterranova decipiens, Trichinella spiralis, and Capillaria philippinensis. The emerged trematode species include Centrocestus armatus, Stictodora lari, Heterophyopsis continua, Metagonimus miyatai, Plagiorchis vespertilionis, Neodiplostomum seoulense, Stellantchasmus falcatus, Heterophyes nocens, Echinostoma cinetorchis, Clinostomum complanatum, Echinochasmus japonicus, Stictodora fuscata, Plagiorchis muris, Gymnophalloides seoi, Pygidiopsis summa, Metagonimus takahashii, Acanthoparyphium tyosenense, and Echinostoma hortense. Cestode species newly reported from humans are Spirometra erinacei, Taenia asiatica, Diphyllobothrium yonagoense, and Mesocestoides lineatus. Most of these species are, with the exception of P. vivax and several others, food-borne parasites. For prevention of these parasitic infections, consumption of well-cooked food is essential.