Lee Jung-Seok, Chung Suh-Yong
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, South Korea.
J Infect Dis. 2023 Jan 11;227(2):295-303. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiac300.
Ticks transmit a wide range of pathogens. The spread of tick-borne infections is an emerging, yet often overlooked, threat in the context of climate change. The infections have rapidly increased over the past few years in South Korea despite no significant changes in socioeconomic circumstances. We investigated the impact of climate change on the surge of tick-borne infections and identified potential disease hot spots at a resolution of 5 km by 5 km. A composite index was constructed based on multiple climate and environmental indicators and compared with the observed tick-borne infections. The surge of tick-borne episodes corresponded to the rising trend of the index over time. High-risk areas identified by the index can be used to prioritize locations for disease prevention activities. Monitoring climate risk factors may provide an opportunity to predict the spread of the infections in advance.
蜱虫传播多种病原体。在气候变化的背景下，蜱媒感染的传播是一个新出现但常常被忽视的威胁。尽管社会经济状况没有显著变化，但在过去几年里，韩国的此类感染迅速增加。我们研究了气候变化对蜱媒感染激增的影响，并以5公里×5公里的分辨率确定了潜在的疾病热点地区。基于多个气候和环境指标构建了一个综合指数，并将其与观察到的蜱媒感染情况进行比较。蜱媒感染事件的激增与该指数随时间的上升趋势相对应。该指数确定的高风险地区可用于确定疾病预防活动的优先地点。监测气候风险因素可能提供提前预测感染传播的机会。
