Preparation Needed Including Checking Infectious Disease Information Before Overseas Travel
Dengue Fever and Measles to Watch Out for in Southeast Asia
As the Chuseok holiday approaches, it is expected that more than 1.2 million travelers will go abroad, raising the need for preparedness against overseas infectious diseases. Travelers should check infectious disease information and follow prevention guidelines before traveling.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 14th, a total of 157 countries have been classified as quarantine management areas for the second half of this year as of the 1st of this month. These include 37 countries in Asia and the Middle East, 52 in the Americas and Oceania, 15 in Europe, and 53 in Africa. Quarantine management areas refer to places where quarantine infectious diseases are prevalent or have the potential to spread, posing a risk of entering the country.
Areas classified as general quarantine management regions are places where mosquito-borne infectious diseases have occurred. Dengue fever and measles have been widespread in these regions. Dengue fever, a Class 3 legally designated infectious disease, is transmitted by mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus that carry the dengue virus. After an incubation period of 5 to 7 days, symptoms such as fever, headache, and chills appear. The main countries of entry are Southeast Asian regions popular among Koreans, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia.
The fatality rate of dengue fever is about 5%, requiring special caution. If treated promptly, the fatality rate drops to 1%, but if treatment is delayed, it can rise to as high as 20%. To prevent mosquito-borne infectious diseases like dengue fever, it is important to wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants during travel and use mosquito repellents.
In regions such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, where caution is needed for dengue fever infection, measles should also be carefully considered. Measles, a Class 2 legally designated infectious disease, is highly contagious and spreads through coughing or sneezing. After an incubation period of 10 to 12 days, symptoms such as high fever, cough, runny nose, and conjunctivitis occur, and complications like diarrhea, otitis media, bronchitis, and bronchopneumonia may develop. Although only 8 cases were reported last year, 47 infections have been confirmed so far this year. To prevent infection, strict personal hygiene such as handwashing and observing cough etiquette locally is essential.
Priority quarantine management areas, which are a higher classification than general quarantine management areas, are places where Class 1 legally designated infectious diseases such as plague, animal influenza human infections, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) have occurred. There are 21 such areas, including Mongolia, Cambodia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and some regions of China.
Plague occurs on all continents except Oceania. From March to August 2022, the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported 596 suspected cases (including 8 deaths).
Animal influenza infection is an acute respiratory infection caused by human infection with avian influenza (AI). According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), since 2003, there have been a total of 907 cases of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) in 24 countries. Notably, in March this year, a death due to human infection with avian influenza occurred in Vietnam. MERS presents symptoms such as fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, and since no antiviral drugs have been developed yet, treatment is symptomatic.
Meanwhile, more than 1.2 million people are expected to travel abroad during this Chuseok holiday. According to a survey conducted by Incheon International Airport Corporation from the 1st to the 7th of last month, among 1,270 respondents aged 18 or older who had traveled abroad through Incheon Airport within the last five years, 11.2% (with a 97% confidence level and a margin of error of ±1.27 percentage points) said they plan to travel abroad during the Chuseok holiday.
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