KDCA Issues Japanese Encephalitis Alert Nationwide

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] On the 5th, health authorities issued a Japanese encephalitis alert nationwide.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced that based on mosquito surveillance and analysis results from the 2nd to the 4th, the 'Culex tritaeniorhynchus' mosquito, which transmits Japanese encephalitis, was collected in the Busan area above the alert issuance threshold, prompting the issuance of the Japanese encephalitis alert.

This comes about four months after a warning was issued on March 22.

The KDCA issues a Japanese encephalitis alert when the average daily number of Culex tritaeniorhynchus mosquitoes collected twice weekly exceeds 500 and accounts for more than 50% of the total mosquito density; this time, it is 85.7% (641 mosquitoes).

This year's alert issuance is about two weeks later than last year (July 23). The KDCA estimates that the main cause is the rise in temperature due to the heatwave.

However, the KDCA reported that no cases of Japanese encephalitis have been confirmed domestically this year.

The Culex tritaeniorhynchus is a small, dark brown mosquito that feeds at night and inhabits rice paddies, animal barns, and puddles.

Not all Culex tritaeniorhynchus mosquitoes carry the Japanese encephalitis virus. Even if bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus, most people show no symptoms or only mild symptoms accompanied by fever.

However, some cases can progress to fatal acute encephalitis, so caution is necessary.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.