Mosquito Bite Risks

[Anchor Lead]

A nationwide Japanese encephalitis warning has been issued, the first one in the month of June in 20 years. As the long drought has been alleviated with the recent rain, mosquito populations have surged, prompting people to take precautions against mosquito bites.

[Pkg]

The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a nationwide warning for Japanese encephalitis. The warning came after a higher-than-standard number of Culex tritaeniorhynchus, the mosquito species carrying the Japanese encephalitis virus, have been found in Busan. The warning was issued about two weeks earlier than last year. It is also the first to be issued in June in the 20 years since the last case in 1997. When bitten by the virus-carrying mosquito, victims may exhibit no symptoms or suffer from only fever and headaches. Precautions are necessary, however, because in rare cases the disease may progress to acute encephalitis, which has a 30% mortality rate. In Korea 128 cases have been reported and 17 patients have died in the past five years. Vaccine shots are advised for those who live near pig sties or in mosquito-infested areas or have plans to travel to Southeast Asia.

[Soundbite] Ihn Hye-kyeong(Korea CDC) : "It's important to get rid of pools of water near your home so that mosquito larvae cannot grow."

Experts also recommend spraying mosquito repellent every three to four hours when outdoors and avoiding heavily scented perfumes or cosmetics.