Table 3.
Epidemiological characteristics of scrub typhus cases between January and December 2009 in urban areas
| Item | Seoul | Busan | Daegu | Inchon | Gwangju | Daejeon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | ||||||
| Male | 49 (45.8) | 112 (38.9) | 36 (35.6) | 32 (40.5) | 73 (43.5) | 41 (44.1) |
| Female | 58 (54.2) | 176 (61.1) | 65 (64.4) | 74 (59.5) | 95 (56.5) | 52 (55.9) |
| Age (yr) | ||||||
| <50 | 36 (36.6) | 64 (22.2) | 22 (21.8) | 36 (45.6) | 38 (22.6) | 30 (32.3) |
| 50–59 | 24 (22.4) | 89 (30.9) | 26 (25.7) | 14 (17.7) | 40 (23.8) | 15 (16.1) |
| 60–69 | 28 (26.2) | 74 (25.7) | 28 (27.7) | 15 (19.0) | 44 (26.2) | 26 (28.0) |
| ≥70 | 19 (17.8) | 61 (21.2) | 25 (24.8) | 14 (17.7) | 46 (27.4) | 22 (23.7) |
| Month | ||||||
| January–September | 9 (7.8) | 18 (6.2) | 15 (14.6) | 13 (15.9) | 7 (4.1) | 10 (9.3) |
| October | 81 (69.8) | 126 (43.6) | 58 (56.3) | 40 (48.8) | 105 (61.8) | 67 (62.6) |
| November | 26 (22.4) | 137 (47.4) | 29 (28.2) | 26 (31.7) | 55 (32.4) | 26 (24.3) |
| December | 0 (0.0) | 8 (2.8) | 1 (1.0) | 3 (3.7) | 3 (1.8) | 4 (3.7) |
| Infection risk factor | ||||||
| Only fieldwork∗ | 2 (2.0) | 25 (9.7) | 25 (27.0) | 7 (11.1) | 22 (14.1) | 20 (27.4) |
| Only outdoor activity† | 97 (97.0) | 229 (89.1) | 62 (66.0) | 54 (85.7) | 128 (82.1) | 50 (68.5) |
| Both fieldwork and outdoor activity | 1 (1.0) | 3 (1.2) | 7 (7.4) | 2 (3.2) | 6 (3.8) | 3 (4.1) |
| Outdoor activities | ||||||
| Non-farmers irregularly participate in agricultural activities | 24 (24.5) | 94 (40.5) | 28 (40.6) | 19 (33.9) | 30 (22.4) | 17 (32.1) |
| Climbing and tracking | 19 (19.4) | 44 (19.0) | 12 (17.4) | 5 (8.9) | 30 (22.4) | 10 (18.9) |
| Gathering chestnuts | 14 (14.3) | 18 (7.8) | 5 (7.2) | 9 (16.1) | 28 (20.9) | 7 (13.2) |
| Government-run public work projects‡ | 1 (1.0) | 33 (14.2) | 1 (1.4) | 1 (1.8) | 6 (4.5) | 0 (0.0) |
| Mowing around graves | 17 (17.3) | 10 (4.3) | 1 (1.4) | 9 (16.1) | 8 (6.0) | 6 (11.3) |
| Others | 31 (31.6) | 48 (20.7) | 29 (40.6) | 18 (32.1) | 29 (21.6) | 19 (34.0) |
Data n (%).
∗
Fieldwork was defined as continuous agricultural, forestry, or stock breeding work, as well as working in vegetable gardens.
†
Outdoor activity was defined as the activities that non-farmers irregularly participate in, which may be related to agriculture (such as assisting farmer relatives) or leisure (such as climbing, tracking, gathering chestnuts, mowing around graves, etc.).
‡
Government-run public work projects provide temporary employment to people by public sector.