We report on the first case of human babesiosis in Korea. The intraerythrocytic parasite (KO1) in the patient's blood mainly appeared as paired pyriforms and ring forms; but Maltese cross forms were not seen, and the parasite showed morphological features consistent with those of the genus Babesia sensu stricto. The sequence of the 18S rRNA gene of KO1 was closely related to that of Babesia spp. isolated from sheep in China (similarity, 98%). The present study provides the first evidence of the presence of a hitherto unidentified, new type of Babesia parasite capable of infecting humans.

BackgroundThe bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi is the causative agent of scrub typhus, mite-borne disease, which causes an acute febrile illness in patients. An epidemiologic study was conducted to understand the characteristics of scrub typhus in South Korea.FindingsReporting of tsutsugamushi disease is mandatory in South Korea since 1994. To investigate the prevalence of tsutsugamushi disease from 2001 to 2013, medical records from the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention were reviewed. In total, 70,914 cases were reported during 2001–2013. Of these, 37.16% (26,349) were male and 62.84% (44,565) were female. The highest number of cases was in the 60–69-year-old age group (19,484; 27.48%), and 72.22% (51,212) were in the 50–79-year-old age group. There were 65,100 cases (91.80%) reported during October (24,964; 35.20%) and November (40,136; 56.60%). An almost four-fold increase in the number of patients was observed in 2013 (10,485 cases) compared to 2001 (2,637 cases). The highest number of patients was reported in the Jeonbuk (9,425; 13.29%) and lowest in the Jeju (362; 0.51%).ConclusionsA rapid increase in the incidence of patients with tsutsugamushi disease was observed in most areas from 2001 to 2013, with the majority of cases reported in the western and southern coast.

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