Seroreactivity to in an Agricultural Population and Prevalence of Infection in Ticks of a Non-Endemic Region for Q Fever in South Korea.

infects humans and wild and domesticated animals. Although reported cases on Jeju Island, off the coast of South Korea, are rare, the region is considered to have a high potential for Q fever. We investigated the seroprevalence of antibodies to in 230 farmers living in ten rural areas on Jeju Island between January 2015 and December 2019. Blood samples were collected and examined for Phase I/II IgM and IgG antibodies. Trained researchers collected ticks from rural areas. Clone XCP-1 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing was performed to identify species from the collected ticks. The overall seroprevalence of antibodies to in farmers was 35.7%. The seroprevalence was significantly higher in fruit farmers. Of the collected ticks, 5.4% (19/351) of the ticks harbored A high seroprevalence of antibodies to was observed in this region of Jeju Island, confirming that is endemic. Physicians should thus consider Q fever in the differential diagnosis of patients that present with acute fever after participating in outdoor activities.