Seroepidemiologic survey of emerging vector-borne infections in South Korean forest/field workers |
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| Authors: | Ji Yun Noh Joon Young Song Joon Yong Bae Man-Seong Park Jin Gu Yoon Hee Jin Cheong Woo Joo Kim |
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| Institution: | 1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea ; 2. Department of Microbiology, Institute for Viral Diseases, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea ; Seoul National University College of Medicine, REPUBLIC OF KOREA |
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| Abstract: | With global warming and lush forest change, vector-borne infections are expected to increase in the number and diversity of agents. Since the first report of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in 2013, the number of reported cases has increased annually in South Korea. However, although tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) was detected from ticks and wild rodents, there is no human TBE case report in South Korea. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of TBEV and SFTS virus (SFTSV) among forest and field workers in South Korea. From January 2017 to August 2018, a total 583 sera were obtained from the forest and field workers in South Korea. IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and neutralization assay were conducted for TBEV, and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and neutralization assay were performed for SFTSV. Seroprevalence of TBEV was 0.9% (5/583) by IgG ELISA, and 0.3% (2/583) by neutralization assay. Neutralizing antibody against TBEV was detected in a forest worker in Jeju (1:113) and Hongcheon (1:10). Only 1 (0.2%) forest worker in Yeongju was seropositive for SFTSV by IFA (1:2,048) and neutralizing antibody was detected also. In conclusion, this study shows that it is necessary to raise the awareness of physicians about TBEV infection and to make efforts to survey and diagnose vector-borne diseases in South Korea. |
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