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When heading out to enjoy the autumn weather, people are advised to wear long clothes and pack tick repellent.
With a peak in tick activity, protection against tick-borne illnesses is crucial.
Park Se-young has more.
With mountains covered in fall foliage and fruits and grains ripe and full, …it's the perfect time to head out and enjoy the autumn season.
However, tick activity peaks in autumn, …and so do cases of tick-borne illnesses like scrub typhus.
"Scrub typhus starts in September and peaks in October and November. It's related to the generation of Leptotrombidium pallidum larvae at this time of the year."
Many patients are in their 50s to 70s.
With the aging population in farming and mountain villages, …the elderly are thought to be getting bitten while harvesting crops.
"We think the elderly in rural areas become exposed mostly while working during harvest time in autumn."
Scrub typhus is transmitted to humans when bitten by certain kinds of trombiculid mites.
Symptoms of high fever, muscle aches and rashes appear after a latent period of one to three weeks.
The bite area becomes covered with a black scab and the infection can even lead to death.
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or SFTS, …which causes multiple organ failure, also peaks during this time of the year.
In the last five years, 830 people were infected with tick-borne illnesses in Korea.
Of that total, 156 people died.
Because neither of the illnesses have vaccines, …people doing outdoor activities are advised to wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants and to use insect repellent.
It also helps to take a thorough shower and wash your clothes after getting home.
And those with symptoms like high fever within three weeks of outdoor activities should see a doctor as soon as possible.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.
