Data for the Philippines and Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) were collected from World Health Business (WHO) Western Pacific Region (14)

Data for the Philippines and Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) were collected from World Health Business (WHO) Western Pacific Region (14). To minimize a risk of dengue fever and severe dengue, travelers should consider regional and seasonal dengue scenario. It is recommended to prevent from mosquito bites or to abstain from repetitive visit to endemic countries. In addition , more active surveillance system and monitoring the prevalence asymptomatic contamination and disease serotypes are required to prevent severe dengue and indigenous dengue outbreak. Keywords: Dengue Fever, Mosquito-Borne Disease, Risk Element, Prevention == INTRODUCTION == Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus (DENV), belonging to the genusFlavivirus. DF has become global public health concerns. The dengue contamination has spread significantly around the world in recent decades. The infection is seen as endemic in more than 100 countries and about 50% of the worlds population is at risk of DF (1). A recent study indicated an estimated 390 million dengue infections occur per year, of which 96 million appeared to possess clinical manifestation (2). Among the countries with DF, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific countries are known to be the most endemic regions (2). Any autochthonous case of DF has not been verified yet in Korea, imported DF was first reported in 2001 and the cases possess increased constantly thereafter (3). Most cases were caused by travelers returning from Southeast Asia, including Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. As Korean travelers visiting Southeast Asia have increased during recent years, there was an increased trend in annual imported dengue cases. DENV is known to be transmitted between people by the mosquitoes, particularlyAedes aegyptiandAedes albopictus. Aedes aegypti, known as the primary vector of dengue and zika viruses, is not detected butAedes albopictusis commonly found in Korea. Aedes albopictusis known to be a secondary vector of DENV and play a limited role for transmission (4). However , over-dispersed great quantity ofAedes albopictusmay be a risk factor of DF outbreak in Korea. Secondary contamination with a diverse DENV serotype (DENV-1 to 5) from primary contamination has been known as a major risk factor to get the development of severe dengue, formerly known as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)/dengue shock syndrome (DSS) (5, 6). Secondary contamination with different serotype may elicit antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) response, which facilitates infection of Fc-receptor-bearing cells with DENV and amplified production of cytokines (7, 8). Rabbit Polyclonal to CACNA1H These responses were reported to be linked to severe symptom and increased mortality (9, 10). DHF or DSS have been not reported Imrecoxib yet in Korea. However , increasing travel to dengue-endemic regions and build up of infected people with residual antibody may predispose Korean travelers to severe dengue by repetitive infection. Previous studies in Europe, Australia, and Japan reported various dengue cases imported from endemic regions (11, 12, 13). The study analyzed the relationship between the number of dengue cases imported into each region and the number of travelers coming from dengue-affected areas, using national dengue importation data from web resources and surveillance reports. The study in Europe reported that travelers arriving from dengue-endemic regions affect dengue importation into Europe and the risk of dengue importation was greatest in August, September, and October (11). For Japan, most of dengue cases were imported Imrecoxib from Southeast Asia and the pattern in dengue infection among Japanese travelers was associated with seasonal fluctuation of DF incidence in Southeast Asia (12). The study in Australia also reported that imported DF was caused by infected travelers returning from Southeast Asia (13). These studies provided spatio-temporal elements affecting dengue importation into each country and suggested effective public health responses. In this study, we analyzed epidemiological characteristics to get imported dengue infection in Korea by using national surveillance data and reports. We suggest the potential risks of dengue transmission by continuous importation and the effective responses to minimize dengue contamination. == COMPONENTS AND METHODS == == Data collection == This study analyzed national surveillance data around the annual number of reported dengue cases from 2006 to 2015. Data for the Philippines and Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) were collected from Imrecoxib World Health Business (WHO) Western Pacific Region.