Gurye-gun Installs Automatic Pest Repellent Dispensers

Published 20 Apr.2023 16:28(KST)

Hiking Trails, Park Walkways, Parking Lots, etc.

Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it has installed automatic insect repellent dispensers at five major hiking trails and walking paths to protect local residents from tick-borne infectious diseases.

The locations for the dispenser installations are the Bamboo Forest Trail, Osan Hiking Trail, Bongseongsan Park Walking Path, Hwaeomsa Temple Parking Lot, and the entrance to the Piagol Hiking Trail.

[Photo by Gurye-gun]

The existing repellent storage boxes were small in space and frequently lost repellents, making them inconvenient for many users. In particular, the repellent boxes in densely wooded areas were hard to see, resulting in low usage rates.

To address these shortcomings, the county removed the existing repellent storage boxes and installed automatic dispensers.

The automatic dispenser allows users to press a button and pull a handle to evenly spray the repellent for 10 seconds on necessary areas such as arms and legs without exerting much effort.

A representative from the Gurye County Health and Medical Center stated, “In addition to installing automatic insect repellent dispensers to prevent tick-borne infectious diseases, we have been distributing portable repellents and promotional arm sleeves?one per household?every year, and conducting education and publicity for local residents. If high fever or body aches occur within two weeks after outdoor activities or farm work, immediate medical consultation is necessary.”

Kim Hyunjin, Director of the Gurye County Health and Medical Center, urged, “From April to November is the period when wild tick larvae are highly active, so please follow prevention guidelines to avoid tick bites during outdoor activities and farm work.”

Meanwhile, Gurye-gun has 90.3% of its total area consisting of rice paddies, fields, and forests, and more than 35.0% of its residents are engaged in agriculture and forestry, making the risk of exposure to ticks very high.

The main diseases that can be transmitted by ticks are tsutsugamushi disease and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). The fatality rate of SFTS reaches 18.7%, and the incidence of tsutsugamushi disease has been steadily increasing nationwide. Accordingly, Gurye-gun has installed and operated repellent storage boxes on hiking trails and walking paths for the past six years to prevent tick-borne infectious diseases.

Gurye = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yuk Miseok hss79@asiae.co.kr