Epidemiological characteristics of reported malaria cases in South Korea in 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

In Korea, malaria is one of the national notifiable infectious diseases that is classified into a disease in group III. The data were collected through the Korea National Infectious Disease Surveillance System (NIDSS), and reviewed with epidemiological characteristics of 576 confirmed cases (indigenous cases 501, imported cases 75) reported in 2018. The analysis showed that 87.0% of them was male and varied with age groups: the relatively higher proportions included 39.1% in their 20s, 15.6% in their 40s, 14.8% in their 50s, and 13.7% in their 30s. Based on the type of Plasmidium spp., P. vivax accounted for 93.2%, followed by P. falciparum (6.3%), P. malariae (0.3), and P. ovale (0.2%). By nationality and occupation, 92.7% was responsible for Koreans and 7.3% for foreigners, and 71.5% was among civilians, 17.5% among soldiers, and 10.9% among veterans. By areas infected with malaria, 87.0% was classified into indigenous cases and 13.0% into imported cases from 28 countries (Africa 17 countries, Asia 11 countries). Although South Korea is considered in the elimination phase of malaria, indicating a downward pattern in indigenous malaria incidence, the more strengthened surveillance system against malaria should be continued because increased outdoor activities, along with global warming, would increase the vector-borne diseases.

Keywords: Malaria, Infectious disease, Veteran, Indigenous case, Imported case, National surveillance