The Daejeon Metropolitan City Institute of Health and Environment will proactively implement surveillance projects on vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks, including density surveys and pathogen monitoring, from this month until the end of November to preemptively respond to the spread of infectious diseases due to climate change.
The institute has been continuously promoting vector surveillance projects annually to prevent infectious diseases, as the distribution and activity periods of vectors like mosquitoes and ticks expand due to climate change, and the possibility of imported infectious diseases also increases.
The mosquito surveillance project will be conducted weekly at five locations within the city using digital mosquito surveillance (DMS) devices and light traps to collect mosquitoes and analyze their distribution patterns. Real-time mosquito occurrence information will be monitored through DMS, and collected mosquitoes will be promptly tested for major infectious disease pathogens, including Japanese encephalitis, Zika virus infection, dengue fever, West Nile fever, yellow fever, and malaria.
The tick surveillance project will involve collecting hard ticks in areas along the Gapcheon Stream and walking trails in urban parks to conduct pathogen tests for tick-borne infectious diseases such as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis.
Test results will be transparently disclosed to citizens through the institute's website and social media channels. If the Japanese encephalitis vector mosquito is detected for the first time or if pathogens are found, citizens will be promptly advised to take precautions, and relevant information will be immediately shared with quarantine agencies.
Shin Yong-hyun, Director of the Institute of Health and Environment, stated, "As the risk of vector-borne infectious diseases gradually increases due to climate change, we will do our best to protect the health of citizens through systematic surveillance and rapid response."
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