Audience members watch a performance from inside mosquito nets at the sixth Hwaeom Temple mosquito net film and music show in Gwangju on Aug. 8.NEWS1
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency issued a nationwide malaria alert on Thursday after finding the parasite that causes the disease inside mosquitoes trapped in Gyeonggi.
Detecting the parasite in the mosquito itself, rather than simply counting how many mosquitoes are about, means a bite now carries a real chance of infection.
Genetic material from Plasmodium vivax, the malaria parasite found in Korea, turned up in Anopheles mosquitoes collected in Paju and Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi during the week of July 27 to Aug. 2, the agency said.
A graphic from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency shows malaria prevention guidelines.KOREA DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION AGENCY
Thursday's alert was the third time the alert level has risen this year. The agency issued a nationwide advisory on June 22, when mosquito numbers crossed the trigger threshold. It then raised alerts in five places where cases clustered and mosquito numbers kept climbing: Paju and Gimpo in Gyeonggi, Ganghwa County and Gyeyang District in Incheon, and Yanggu County in Gangwon. The alert now covers the whole country.
Mosquito density is lower than last year, which the agency attributed to the heat. Korea recorded 201 malaria cases through Aug. 1, down 43.4 percent from 355 in the same period last year.
"Mosquito density can climb again once the heat breaks, so local governments in risk areas need to step up comprehensive control to bring the numbers down," Lim Seung-kwan, the agency's commissioner, said.
Lim urged residents and visitors in risk areas to stay in at night, wear loose long-sleeved clothing and make full use of repellent and mosquito nets. He also urged anyone who develops a fever, chills or other suspected symptoms to get tested quickly at a public health center or a hospital.
The agency runs a vector surveillance program every year that tracks Anopheles numbers and tests the mosquitoes for the parasite.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
