On the 27th of last month (local time), the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced a list of potential High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID) that could occur in each country. Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS) was cited as an HCID that could occur in Korea.
Ticks are the main carrier of the SFTS virus｜Source: Getty Image Bank
The UK Health and Safety Agency has been monitoring pathogens occurring in each country to prevent the spread of a second infectious disease right after the Corona 19 pandemic. Looking at this list released by UKHSA, the HCIDs in the US were Avian influenza A, H5N1 and Plague, and the HCIDs in the Central African Republic were Ebola and Mpox (monkeypox before the disease name was revised). was
Beware of ticks, the main vectors of viruses
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an infectious disease that occurs from April to November when the days become warmer. In Korea, after the first infection was reported in 2013, a total of 1,510 patients occurred by 2021, of which 279 died. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) defines SFTS as a third-class statutory infectious disease and requires reporting within 24 hours in the event of a disease.
The most common route of infection is being bitten by a tick that carries the SFTS virus during outdoor activities, and the virus penetrates the body and becomes infected. In addition, there are some cases in which medical staff treating SFTS patients are presumed to have been infected by direct exposure to the patient’s blood or body fluids, so care must be taken when in contact with patients. In fact, in August 2022, five medical staff working in the emergency intensive care unit at Kyungpook National University Hospital were exposed to the patient’s bodily fluids while treating an SFTS patient and were collectively infected with the SFTS virus.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are several species of ticks that can be the main carriers of the SFTS virus, such as the ‘small sophie tick’, ‘gapi tick tick’, ‘Japanese tick tick’, and ‘Cham tick tick’. The domestic dominant species is the small sophie tick. Tick starts to be active in the spring when the temperature rises, and the population increases rapidly in September. Therefore, at this time, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitors the occurrence of ticks. Of course, being bitten by a tick does not necessarily mean that you will be infected with the SFTS virus. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, “Fortunately, only a few of the ticks living in Korea have the SFTS virus,” and “If you are bitten by a tick during outdoor activities, you don’t have to worry too much about being infected with the SFTS virus. However, always be careful. is necessary,” he advised.
When the SFTS virus enters the body, symptoms such as high fever of 38 degrees or higher, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain of unknown cause appear after an incubation period of 6 to 14 days. It may be accompanied by symptoms such as headache, muscle pain, and swollen lymph nodes, and 1 in 4 patients experience disturbance of consciousness and convulsions. If severe, bleeding and multiple organ failure occur, leading to death. The domestic fatality rate of SFTS is about 18.5%.
There is no vaccine or cure, so prevention is the best
The biggest problem with SFTS is that there is no vaccine or treatment yet. Therefore, prevention is best. During outdoor activities from April to November, wear safety clothing such as long clothes, long socks, and hats, and use tick repellent. When taking a break in the grass, you should use a mat rather than sitting on the ground, and you should not leave your clothes on the grass. After returning home, you should wash your clothes and wash your body thoroughly.
In addition, once the tick attaches to the human body, it is firmly fixed to the skin and sucks blood for 3 to 7 days, so it is necessary to check whether the tick is attached to the body or if there is a wound from an insect bite. If you find a tick attached to your skin, never try to remove it by hand. If you forcefully pull it out by hand, there is a risk that part of the tick, such as the head, will remain on the skin. Therefore, it is desirable to use tweezers and disinfectant, or visit a nearby hospital to remove it.
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