Epidemiological Characteristics and Risk Factors of Dengue Infection in Korean Travelers

Abstract

Dengue viral infection has rapidly spread around the world in recent decades. In Korea, autochthonous cases of dengue fever have not been confirmed yet. However, imported dengue cases have been increased since 2001. The risk of developing severe dengue in Korean has been increased by the accumulation of past-infected persons with residual antibodies to dengue virus and the remarkable growth of traveling to endemic countries in Southeast Asia. Notably, most of imported dengue cases were identified from July to December, suggesting that traveling during rainy season of Southeast Asia is considered a risk factor for dengue infection. Analyzing national surveillance data from 2011 to 2015, males aged 20–29 years are considered as the highest risk group. But considering the age and gender distribution of travelers, age groups 10–49 except 20–29 years old males have similar risks for infection. To minimize a risk of dengue fever and severe dengue, travelers should consider regional and seasonal dengue situation. It is recommended to prevent from mosquito bites or to abstain from repetitive visit to endemic countries. In addition, more active surveillance system and monitoring the prevalence asymptomatic infection and virus serotypes are required to prevent severe dengue and indigenous dengue outbreak.

Dengue fever is an emerging public health concern in the city of Multan, Pakistan: its seroprevalence and associated risk factors

“…In our study, very few children aged 8 years or less were positive for dengue antibodies, whereas 63% of adults between 21 and 49 years old were positive for these antibodies. The same trend regarding age has been reported from both neighboring and non‐neighboring countries like India , Bangladesh mainland China , Timor‐Leste , Korea and Nepal .…”

Age‐associated differences in clinical manifestations and laboratory parameters during a dengue virus type 4 outbreak in Argentina

“…Previous studies have described differences in dengue presentation based on sex. 18,[20][21][22] Nearly 56% of the participants in our study were female and these patients had a significantly higher rate of DWWS compared to men (43.1% vs 31.3%; Table 3). Although univariate analysis showed that females had an increased risk of developing DWWS, this risk was no longer significant when adjusted for age and pre-existing immunity to DENV (Table 3).…”

“…Previous studies have described differences in dengue presentation based on sex . Nearly 56% of the participants in our study were female and these patients had a significantly higher rate of DWWS compared to men (43.1% vs 31.3%; Table ).…”

“…Similar results have been reported in Mexico City,in French Caribbean islands, and in select Chinese localities . One study in Korea, a country in which DENV is almost exclusively imported by travelers, found significantly higher DENV incidence in men . Further investigation will be necessary to define whether these differences are due to physiological or to regional socio‐behavioral factors.…”

Indikator Entomologi Dan Risiko Penularan Demam Berdarah Dengue (Dbd) Di Pulau Jawa, Indonesia

“…Pada infeksi primer, kemungkinan besar tidak terlaporkan karena adanya konsep sakit di masyarakat, di mana apabila masih bisa melaksanakan tugas atau bekerja mereka merasa tidak sakit, sehingga tidak periksa pada fasilitas kesehatan dan tidak terlaporkan. Adanya konsep tersebut, maka kemungkinan pada saat terjadi peningkatan kasus, disebabkan adanya infeksi dengue sekunder dengan derajat keparahan yang tinggi, dan pada saat tersebut banyak masyarakat yang periksa di fasilitas kesehatan sehingga kasus DBD terlaporkan (Je et al, 2016;Sarasati, 2016).…”