Chungnam, First Discovery of Japanese Encephalitis Vector Mosquito in Yesan

Small Red House Mosquito. Provided by Chungnam Provincial Institute of Health and Environment

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Chungnam Provincial Institute of Health and Environment announced on the 23rd that it recently discovered the Japanese encephalitis vector mosquito, the small red house mosquito (Culex tritaeniorhynchus), in Yesan and notified the quarantine authorities.

This year, the discovery of the small red house mosquito was more than a month later than last year (July 15), which the Provincial Institute of Health and Environment estimates is due to the temperature rise caused by the heatwave. The discovered mosquitoes were among 681 mosquitoes collected in Yesan.

Japanese encephalitis is a zoonotic viral infectious disease transmitted by the small red house mosquito, with an incubation period of 7 to 14 days. More than 95% of infected individuals are asymptomatic, experiencing no symptoms or only mild symptoms accompanied by fever.

However, if the virus invades the brain, the infected person may experience high fever along with seizures, unconsciousness, or coma. In such cases, 30% of infected individuals may die or suffer from various complications after recovery, so caution is necessary.

The Provincial Institute of Health and Environment conducts mosquito collection and classification twice a week from April to October every year in the Yesan area to monitor Japanese encephalitis vector mosquitoes. The survey results are used as basic data to issue Japanese encephalitis "advisories" and "alerts."

A Japanese encephalitis advisory is issued when the small red house mosquito is first discovered nationwide. An alert is issued when one or more of the following conditions are met: ▲ the first case of Japanese encephalitis occurs ▲ the average daily number of small red house mosquitoes among mosquitoes collected twice a week is 500 or more and accounts for more than 50% of the total mosquito density ▲ Japanese encephalitis virus is isolated or its gene is detected from the collected mosquitoes.

An official from the Provincial Institute of Health and Environment said, "Since there is no appropriate treatment for Japanese encephalitis, vaccination is the best way to prevent infection in advance," and urged, "Each household should use repellents and mosquito nets and avoid outdoor activities at night to prevent mosquito bites."

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