<sec>
<title>Objectives</title>
<p>The importance of tick-borne diseases is increasing because of climate change, with a lack of long-term studies on tick-borne pathogens in South Korea. To understand the epidemiological characteristics of tick-borne diseases, the monthly distribution of field ticks throughout the year was studied in South Korea between May 2014 and April 2018 in a cross sectional study.</p></sec>
<sec>
<title>Methods</title>
<p>The presence of various tick-borne pathogens (<italic>Rickettsia</italic> species, <italic>Borrelia</italic> species, <italic>Anaplasma phagocytophilum</italic>) was confirmed by using polymerase chain reaction, to provide information for a prevention strategy against tick-borne pathogenic infections, through increased understanding of the relationship between seasonal variation and risk of infection with <italic>Rickettsia</italic> species. This was performed using logistic regression analysis (SPSS 20, IBM, USA) of the data obtained from the study.</p></sec>
<sec>
<title>Results</title>
<p>During the study period there were 11,717 ticks collected and 4 species identified. <italic>Haemapysalis longicornis</italic> was the most common species (<italic>n</italic> = 10,904, 93.1%), followed by <italic>Haemapysalis flava</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 656, 5.6%), <italic>Ixodes nipponensis</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 151, 1.3%), and <italic>Amblyomma testudinarium</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 6, 0.05%) The results of this cross-sectional study showed that <italic>Haemapysalis flava</italic> carried a higher risk of transmission of <italic>Rickettsia</italic> species than other tick species (<italic>p</italic> < 0.05).</p></sec>
<sec>
<title>Conclusion</title>
<p>In conclusion, due attention should be paid to preventing tick-borne infections in humans whilst engaged in outdoor activities in Spring and Autumn, particularly in places where there is a high prevalence of ticks.</p></sec>
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Objectives
Laboratory tests are now being used to identify seropositive cases in patients suspected of having a Lyme borreliosis (LB) infection. From 2005 to 2009, we analyzed the serological and epidemiological characteristics of 53 LB positive cases in Korea using immunoblot assay. Methods
During the five-year study period, a total of 1897 serum samples from suspected LB cases were referred to us for further laboratory diagnosis. The bacterial strains <i>Borrelia afzeli</i> pKo, <i>Borrelia garinii</i> 935T and <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> B31 were used for indirect immunofluorescent antibody assay. Immunoblot assay was performed using the recomBlot Borrelia. Results
Based on the information from the clinicians, the main symptoms of LB infection were rash and fever (66.0%), neurological symptoms (30.2%), and arthritis (5.7%). Of the 53 cases, 16 (30.2%) were infected abroad and the remaining 37 cases (69.8%) were suspected to have been infected in Korea. Immunoblot assays detected high levels of the antigens p41 (FlaB) of <i>B. burgdorferi</i> and OspC of <i>B. garinii</i> in infected samples. Conclusions
The causative bacteria of LB were not isolated from humans yet but from vector ticks and rodents in Korea, and a few cases were reported with serological diagnosis. Our results suggest that LB is present in all areas of Korea and indicate that <i>B. garinii</i> and <i>B. burgdorferi</i> may be the predominant bacteria in patients with LB. However, further studies are needed to isolate and identify the causative bacteria for LB in patients.
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