전북지역 쯔쯔가무시증 발생과 기후요소의 상호 관련성

Abstract

Objectives: Scrub typhus is one of the most prevalent vector-borne diseases. It is caused by Orientiatsutsugamushi, which is transmitted when people are bitten by infected chigger mites. This study aims atquantifying the association between the incidence of scrub typhus and meteorological factors in Jeollabuk-doProvince over the period 2001-2015. Methods: Reported cases of scrub typhus were collected from the website of the Disease Web Statistical Systemsupported by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Simultaneous meteorological data,including temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, and sunshine duration were collected from the website of theNational Climate Data Service System by the Korea Meteorological Administration. Correlation and regressionanalyses were applied to identify the association between the incidence of scrub typhus and meteorologicalfactors. Results: The general epidemiological characteristics of scrub typhus in Jeollabuk-do Province were similar tothose nationwide for sex, age, and geographical distribution. However, the annual incidence rate (i.e., cases per100,000) of scrub typhus in Jeollabuk-do Province was approximately four times higher than all Korea’s 0.9. Thenumber of total cases was the highest proportion at 13.3% in Jeonbuk compared to other regions in Korea. Theresults of correlation analysis showed that there were significant correlations between annual cases of scrubtyphus and monthly data for meteorological factors such as temperature and relative humidity in late spring andsummer, especially in the case of temperature in May and June. The results of regression analysis showed thatdetermining factors in the regression equation explaining the incidence of scrub typhus reached 46.2% and43.5% in May and June. Using the regression equation, each 1oC rise in the monthly mean temperature in Mayor June may lead to an increase of 38 patients with scrub typhus compared to the annual mean of incidence casesin Jeollabuk-do Province. Conclusion: The result of our novel attempts provided rational evidence that meteorological factors areassociated with the occurrence of scrub typhus in Jeollabuk-do. It should therefore be necessary to observe thetrends and predict patterns of scrub typhus transmission in relation to global-scale climate change. Also, action is urgently needed in all areas, especially critical regions, toward taking steps to come up with preventivemeasures against scrub typhus transmission.