Seroepidemiologic Analysis of Acute Febrile Illness During 1994-1995 in Korea / 감염

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The principal acute febrile diseases reported in autumn, Korea, have been hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), scrub typhus, murine METHODS: To evaluate the seroepidemiologic patterns of acute febrile illness in Korea, sera were collected from 5330 patients from 1994 to 1995, and examined for antibodies against Hantaan virus, Orientia tsutsuga-mushi, Rickettsia typhi, and Borrelia burgdorf eri by indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique(IFA) and by macroscopic agglutination test for Leptosp ira intero-gans. RESULTS: Of 640 seropositive cases against O. tsutsu-gamushi, 60% were female; age group of the seventh decade occupied 30%; 89% were reported during October and November. By IFA test, the seropositive rate of murine typhus was 3.5% (187/5330) with high incidence rate (44%) in the period from October to December, and males in their forties and fifties were mostly affected. Cases seropositive for leptospirosis consisted 1% of 5330 acute febrile illness cases. Of 55 seropositive cases, 71% were male; 71% were in their sixties; 78% occurred during the period from August to October. Hantavirus seropositive rate was 12.2% (649/5330) with a high incidence rate (70%) in the period from October to January and males in the thirties were mostly infected. No seropositive case of Lyme disease was present. CONCLUSION: The above results indicate that hantavirus, O. tsutsugamushi, R. typhi, and L. interogans were the main causative agents of acute febrile diseases during autumn season in Korea.