I thought it was a simple cold...The number of patients with 'second AIDS' infectious diseases skyrocketed [Now News]

As the number of domestic infections of Lyme disease, known as an endemic disease in North America, has increased significantly, it has been pointed out that Lyme disease-borne ticks have already been indigenous in Korea.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 13th, a total of 45 patients with Lyme disease in Korea last year, including 36 domestic infections, eight overseas patients, and one patient whose infection route is unknown.

Lyme disease is a common infectious disease caused by ticks biting human skin, causing Borrelia bacteria to penetrate the body, and the cause of Borrelia bacteria is sold as "pirochetta", which causes syphilis.It is also called the "second AIDS" because it belongs to the same family as the fungus.

When infected, skin lesions appear red at the edges and light in the middle, along with fever, headache, and fatigue in the early stages.

If not treated properly in the early stages, the bacteria can spread to several organs, causing encephalitis, peripheral neuropathy, myocarditis, arrhythmia and musculoskeletal pain, and people with weak immune systems can die.

The number of Lyme disease infections in Korea decreased during the COVID-19 epidemic and then increased.

In particular, the number of infected patients in Korea over the past five years was 72.4%, higher than 56.4% in 2011-2018.

In fact, it has been reported that the Lyme disease mite and the Saspy mite were collected in all regions except Inje, Gangwon-do, Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do, Boseong, Jeollanam-do, and Jeju.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, "It can be seen that Lyme disease-borne ticks have already been indigenous in Korea due to climate factors such as temperature, humidity, and precipitation," adding, "In the future, the number of domestic cases and areas where they occur is expected to increase due to climate change."

a
reporter | Park Sun-young
AI Anchor|Y-GO
Caption editing | Yoon Hyun-kyung

#NowNews