This study aimed to elucidate the clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with toxoplasmosis in Korea. We collected and analyzed the specific research data of 5,917 patients from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA; 2007–2020) and 533 electronic medical records (EMRs; 2003–2021) of Korean patients. The HIRA data showed that toxoplasmosis is an endemic disease that occurs constantly in Korea, with a large proportion of patients complaining of ocular symptoms. Of the 533 patients for whom EMR data were available, 54.6% were diagnosed with toxoplasmosis; ocular toxoplasmosis (35.7%), congenital toxoplasmosis (4.7%), cerebral toxoplasmosis (4.1%), pulmonary toxoplasmosis (0.4%), and toxoplasma hepatitis (0.6%), in order of frequency. In ocular cases, 54.4% of the patients had diverse ocular pathologies. Toxoplasmosis in Korea is characterized by a high frequency of ocular symptoms, most patients are adults, and 51.8% of patients with seropositivity were positive for IgG, suggesting prior infection. This study highlights that patients with ocular symptoms are included in the major diagnosis group for acquired toxoplasmosis in Korea.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Detection of intestinal parasites in leopard cat fecal samples using shotgun metagenomics Jun Ho Choi, Singeun Oh, Myung-hee Yi, Dongjun Kang, Du-Yeol Choi, Xavier Chavarria, Arwa Shatta, Yoon Hee Cho, Seongjun Choe, Seung-Hun Lee, Ju Yeong Kim Parasites, Hosts and Diseases.2025; 63(4): 349. CrossRef
Young Yil Bahk, Seong Kyu Ahn, Jinyoung Lee, Jae Hyoung Im, Joon-Sup Yeom, Sookkyung Park, Jeongran Kwon, Hyesu Kan, Miyoung Kim, Woori Jang, Tong-Soo Kim
Korean J Parasitol 2021;59(5):447-455. Published online October 22, 2021
Vivax malaria incidence in Korea is now decreased and showing a low plateau. Nowadays, vivax malaria in Korea is expected to be successfully eliminated with anti-malaria chemotherapy, primaquine, and vector control. The glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is associated with potential hemolytic anemia after primaquine administration. This inborn disorder has a pivotal polymorphism with genetic variants and is the most prevalent X-chromosome-linked disorder. The prevalence of G6PD deficiency was previously reported negligible in Korea. As the population of multicultural families pertaining marriage immigrants and their adolescents increases, it is necessary to check G6PD deficiency for them prior to primaquine treatment for vivax malaria. The prevalence of G6PD variants and G6PD deficiency in multicultural families was performed in 7 counties and 2 cities of Jeollanam-do (Province), Gyeonggi-do, and Gangwon-do. A total of 733 blood samples of multicultural family participants were subjected to test the phenotypic and genetic G6PD deficiency status using G6PD enzyme activity quantitation kit and PCR-based G6PD genotyping kit. The G6PD phenotypic deficiency was observed in 7.8% of male adolescent participants and 3.2% of materfamilias population. Based on the PCR-based genotyping, we observed total 35 participants carrying the mutated alleles. It is proposed that primaquine prescription should seriously be considered prior to malaria treatment.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase variants in Kachin, Myanmar Zin Moon, Ja Moon Aung, Dorene VanBik, Hae Soo Yun, Sanghyun Lee, Sylvatrie-Danne Dinzouna-Boutamba, Zau Ring, Yeonchul Hong, Dong-Il Chung, Youn-Kyoung Goo Parasites, Hosts and Diseases.2025; 63(4): 360. CrossRef
Georacial Epidemiological Estimates of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency among Newborns in the United States Ramesh Vidavalur, Vinod K. Bhutani American Journal of Perinatology.2024; 41(S 01): e1841. CrossRef
Suboptimal Doses of Antimalarials Relative to Increasing Body Weight and the Risk of Plasmodium vivax Recurrence in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, 2012–2021 Young Hoon Hwang, Doran Yoon, Suryeong Go, Joon-Sup Yeom, Hong Sang Oh Journal of Korean Medical Science.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Utilization of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Test and the Prevalence of Enzyme Deficiency in Korea Rihwa Choi, Wonseo Park, Gayoung Chun, Sang Gon Lee, Eun Hee Lee Journal of Clinical Medicine.2023; 12(9): 3179. CrossRef
An Evaluation of a New Quantitative Point-of Care Diagnostic to Measure Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase Activity Young Yil Bahk, Seong Kyu Ahn, Heung Jin Jeon, Byoung-Kuk Na, Sung-Keun Lee, Ho-Joon Shin The Korean Journal of Parasitology.2022; 60(4): 281. CrossRef
In malaria, splenic rupture is a serious complication potentially leading to death. Subcapsular hemorrhage of spleen is thought to be an impending sign of splenic rupture; however, the characteristics of subcapsular hemorrhage are not well known. We report 3 cases of subcapsular hemorrhage of the spleen in vivax malaria, with varying degrees of severity. Case 1 showed subcapsular hemorrhage without splenic rupture, was treated by antimalarial drug without any procedure. The healing process of the patient's spleen was monitored through 6 computed tomography follow-up examinations, over 118 days. Case 2 presented subcapsular hemorrhage with splenic rupture, treated only with an antimalarial drug. Case 3 showed subcapsular hemorrhage with splenic rupture and hypotension, treated using splenic artery embolization. They all recovered from subcapsular hemorrhage without any other complications. These 3 cases reveal the process of subcapsular hemorrhage leading to rupture and a potentially fatal outcome. The treatment plan of subcapsular hemorrhage should be determined carefully considering the vital signs, changes in hemoglobin, and bleeding tendency.
Babesiosis, caused by Babesia microti and B. divergens, is transmitted by Ixodid ticks. Symptoms of babesiosis vary from a mild flu-like illness to acute, severe, and sometimes fatal and fulminant disease. In Korea, 7 imported babesiosis cases and 1 endemic case have been reported. We report 2 cases of severe babesiosis initially mistaken as malaria. The first patient was complicated by shock and splenic infarction, the other co-infected with Lyme disease. As the population traveling abroad increases every year, physicians should be aware of babesiosis which mimics malaria, co-infection with other diseases, and its complications.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Imported parasitic diseases in the Republic of Korea: status and issues Jong-Yil Chai Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2025; 68(1): 52. CrossRef
Splenic Infarction in Babesiosis: A Case Series Kaetlyn Arant, Ty Agaisse, Athanasios Vassilopoulos, Sassine Ghanem, Michael Santos Journal of Brown Hospital Medicine.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Detection of US and Kobe‐type Babesia microti in ticks collected from small mammals of the Republic of Korea Tae Yun Kim, Seong Yoon Kim, Jiye Seo, Hee IL Lee, Wook‐Gyo Lee, Hyunwoo Kim Entomological Research.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Current Status of Trypanosoma grosi and Babesia microti in Small Mammals in the Republic of Korea Hyun Jung Kim, BoGyeong Han, Hee-Il Lee, Jung-Won Ju, Hyun-Il Shin Animals.2024; 14(7): 989. CrossRef
Imported human babesiosis in the Republic of Korea, 2019: two case reports Hyun Jung Kim, Min Jae Kim, Hyun-Il Shin, Jung-Won Ju, Hee-Il Lee Parasites, Hosts and Diseases.2023; 61(1): 72. CrossRef
iSeq 100 for metagenomic pathogen screening in ticks Ju Yeong Kim, Myung-hee Yi, Alghurabi Areej Sabri Mahdi, Tai-Soon Yong Parasites & Vectors.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Molecular evidence of zoonotic Babesia species, other than B. microti, in ixodid ticks collected from small mammals in the Republic of Korea Tae Yun Kim, Seong Yoon Kim, Tae‐Kyu Kim, Hee IL Lee, Shin‐Hyeong Cho, Wook‐Gyo Lee, Hyunwoo Kim Veterinary Medicine and Science.2021; 7(6): 2427. CrossRef
Interactions between Babesia microti merozoites and rat kidney cells in a short-term in vitro culture and animal model Marta Albertyńska, Hubert Okła, Krzysztof Jasik, Danuta Urbańska-Jasik, Przemysław Pol Scientific Reports.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
A Review of Zoonotic Babesiosis as an Emerging Public Health Threat in Asia Sabir Hussain, Abrar Hussain, Muhammad Umair Aziz, Baolin Song, Jehan Zeb, David George, Jun Li, Olivier Sparagano Pathogens.2021; 11(1): 23. CrossRef
Splenic Complications ofBabesia microtiInfection in Humans: A Systematic Review Igor Dumic, Cristian Madrid, Libardo Rueda Prada, Charles W. Nordstrom, Pahnwat Tonya Taweesedt, Poornima Ramanan Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology.2020; 2020: 1. CrossRef
A Practical Approach to the Diagnosis of Lyme Borreliosis: From Clinical Heterogeneity to Laboratory Methods Giusto Trevisan, Serena Bonin, Maurizio Ruscio Frontiers in Medicine.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
First
Prev
