Serosurveillance of Scrub Typhus in Small Mammals Collected from Military Training Sites near the DMZ, Northern Gyeonggi-do, Korea, and Analysis of the Relative Abundance of Chiggers from Mammals Examined

Abstract

Comprehensive quarterly serosurveillance on scrub typhus in small mammals collected from military training sites located near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), northern Gyeonggi-do (Province), ROK was conducted to determine the potential rodent-borne and associated ectoparasite disease risks to military personnel. A total of 1,196 rodents and insectivores representing 8 species, Apodemus agrarius (87.3%, n = 1,044), Mus musculus (5.4%, n = 65), Crocidura /asiura (3.3%, n = 40), Microtus fortis (2.6%, n = 31), Micromys minutus (0.3%, n = 4), Tscherskia triton (0.3%, n = 4), Rattus norvegicus (0.3%, n = 4), and Myodes regulus (0.3%, n = 4) were assayed for the presence of antibodies to Orientia tsutsugamushi. 0. tsutsugamushi antibodies were detected in 6 of 8 species and seroprevalence determined; A. agrarius (45.6%), M. musculus (23.1%), M. fortis (48.4%), M. minutus (50.0%), T. triton (50.0%), and R. norvegicus (25.0%). A total of 31,184 chigger mites collected from 508 rodents and insectivores were slide-mounted and 10 species belonging to 4 genera were identified. Leptotrombidium pallidum (53.4%) was the most frequently collected, followed by L. palpale (15.7%), Neotrombicu/a tamiyai (14.3%), L. orientale (10.7%), L. zetum (3.1%), Walchia tragi/is (2.1%), and L. gemiticu/ um (0.8%), while the remaining 3 species, L. subintermedium, N. gardel/ai, and Euschoengastia koreaensis were rarely observed (prevalence < 1 0%). In contrast to previous surveys, higher chigger indices of the primary scrub typhus vectors L. pallidum (165.4), L. orientale (45.0), and L. palpale (21.4), were observed during the spring season.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA551687

Entities

People

  • Allen L Richards
  • Heung C. Kim
  • In Y. Lee
  • Jin-won Song
  • John S. Lee
  • Se H. Gu
  • Sung T. Chong
  • Terry A. Klein

Organizations

  • Naval Medical Research Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Antibodies
  • Biology
  • Biomedical Research
  • Contrast
  • Demilitarized Zones
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Operations
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Training
  • Mites
  • North Carolina
  • Scrub Typhus
  • Students
  • Training
  • Typhus

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