Gyeonggi Province Residents Urged to Be Cautious of Japanese Encephalitis...Patient Cases Concentrated After Late August

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province has urged residents to exercise caution and pay attention, noting that Japanese encephalitis patients in the province have been concentrated after late August over the past three years.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 19th, from 2018 to 2020, there were 17 Japanese encephalitis patients in the province (58 nationally), and notably, 6 out of 7 national patients last year were concentrated in Gyeonggi Province.

Regarding the timing of the 17 Gyeonggi Province patients, 16 occurred from August to December except for one case in January. The first patients of each year were identified on August 28, 2018, September 1, 2019, and September 7, 2020, respectively, from late August to early September.

'Japanese encephalitis' is a Class 3 infectious disease under legal notification and a zoonotic infectious disease.

Most individuals bitten by the Asian house mosquito, which is the vector for Japanese encephalitis, are asymptomatic; however, after an incubation period of 5 to 15 days, symptoms such as high fever, headache, dizziness, vomiting, and abdominal pain may develop, and in severe cases, encephalitis occurs.

Among patients exhibiting such severe disease, 30 percent of those with encephalitis die, and 30 to 50 percent of survivors suffer from neurological complications.

Among 17 Gyeonggi Province patients that occurred over the past three years, 7 died.

Among 10 survivors, 8 (47 percent) are suffering from severe complications requiring intensive care treatment, and only 2 infected individuals have returned to daily life.

While no Japanese encephalitis patients have been reported in Gyeonggi Province or nationwide this year, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency issued a 'Japanese encephalitis alert' nationwide on August 5 after Asian house mosquitoes, the vector for Japanese encephalitis, accounted for 85.7 percent of all collected mosquitoes in Busan.

Since Japanese encephalitis has an effective preventive vaccine available, vaccination completion according to the standard vaccination schedule is recommended.

The primary vaccination recommendation targets include people living in high-risk areas where Japanese encephalitis vector mosquitoes frequently appear, such as near rice paddies or pig farms, and adults with frequent outdoor activities in summer without prior experience of Japanese encephalitis vaccination.

Park Geon-hui, director of the Gyeonggi Province Infectious Disease Management Support Division, stated, "Although the absolute number of confirmed cases of Japanese encephalitis is small, it is an infectious disease with high mortality and severe complications, so people must avoid mosquitoes and comply with preventive guidelines," and added, "Those engaging in the recently popular 'car camping' or camping, as well as those residing or working in areas at risk of mosquito appearance, should be especially cautious."