'Japanese Encephalitis Transmission' Small Red House Mosquito Found in Incheon... No Human Infection Pathogen Detected

The Incheon Health and Environment Research Institute announced on the 16th that the 'small red house mosquito,' which transmits Japanese encephalitis, was recently found in Seokmo-ri, Samsan-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, and around Eulwangsan in Jung-gu. The first discovery of the small red house mosquito in Incheon this year was in the first week of August (July 31 to August 6), similar to last year (August 8 to 15).

As a result of examining the collected mosquitoes, the 'flavi virus,' which causes Japanese encephalitis, dengue fever, yellow fever, and others, was not detected, confirming that there is no risk of infectious disease transmission. The flavi virus is transmitted by insects such as mosquitoes and causes pathogenicity in humans.

The small red house mosquito mainly inhabits rice paddies, animal barns, puddles, and other areas and is dark brown in color. It has no distinct patterns, has a wide white band in the middle of its proboscis, and is very small, about 4.5 mm in size. The small red house mosquito begins to increase from June in southern regions, reaches high density from July to September, and can be observed throughout Korea until the end of October.

Jageunppalganjip Mosquito

Earlier, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency issued a Japanese encephalitis advisory on March 23, when the small red house mosquito was first found in Jeju and Busan, and on the 27th of last month, when a large number of small red house mosquitoes were collected in Busan, it issued a nationwide Japanese encephalitis alert. In Korea, Japanese encephalitis infections mainly occur between September and October. There were 7 cases in 2020, 23 in 2021, 11 last year, and none so far this year. One Japanese encephalitis patient in Incheon last year was infected in October.

Kwon Moon-ju, director of the Incheon Health and Environment Research Institute, said, "With the easing of COVID-19 quarantine measures, domestic and international travel has increased recently, leading to a rise in mosquito-borne infectious diseases, including Japanese encephalitis," and urged, "The best prevention is to avoid mosquito bites, so please follow preventive measures during outdoor activities."

The Japanese encephalitis prevention guidelines are ▲ refrain from outdoor activities at night from June to October ▲ wear light-colored long clothes when going out and apply mosquito repellent around the face every 3 to 4 hours ▲ eliminate standing water in puddles and blocked drainage around the house ▲ for children eligible for national vaccination support (born after January 1, 2010), follow the standard vaccination schedule.

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