Epidemiological characteristics of cases with Chikungunya fever in Korea from 2013 to 2018

Jeon Byoung-Hak, Park Kyeongeun, Kwon Jeong Ran, Cho Eun Hee
Division of Control for Zoonotic and Vector borne Diseases, Center of Infectious Diseases Control, KCDC

Chikungunya fever is a globally spreading viral disease, which is transmitted to people by the mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, and its neurological complications have been a major cause of intensive care unit and death. It is classified into the Group 4 of the national notifiable infectious disease in Korea. We analyzed the epidemiological characteristics of patients with Chikungunya fever from the National Infectious Disease Surveillance System (NIDSS) from 2013 to 2018. Twenty-three cases with Chikungunya fever were reported to NIDSS; 52.2% of them were male, and the age range was 20-59 years (95.7%). All cases notified in Korea were found to be imported cases attributable to overseas infection. There was no evidence of second transmission of the Chikungunya virus in domestic areas, and the major infected area was estimated to be South Asia. Timely reporting and testing of Chikungunya fever in those who have recently returned from countries with local transmission are important, particularly if they exhibit symptoms such as fever, arthralgia, or myalgia. Effective surveillance and the response system should be strengthened to prevent the Chikungunya fever becoming indigenous.

Keywords: Chikungunya fever, Epidemiologic survey, Chikungunya virus, National Surveillance, Myalgia, Fever, Arthralgia