Epidemiology of Rabies in Korea

Abstract

In total, 16,129 rabies cases have been recorded in Korea since the first identification of rabies in 1907. The Korean government implemented an intensive rabies control programme in the 1960s. No rabies cases were reported during the eight-year period between 1985 and 1992. However, there have been 432 cases between 1993 and 2010, since the recurrence of the disease in Gangwon-do in 1993. To prevent wild animal-mediated rabies, oral bait vaccines were employed. After bait vaccines were laid, the number of annual rabies cases seemed to decrease between 2004 and 2010. Since 2007, no rabies cases have been identified in Gyeonggi-do. However, cases continue to occur, moving eastwards to Gangwon-do. Based on the monthly distribution of animal rabies for this 18-year period (1993-2010), the incidence was highest during the winter months (December to February), with a peak in January. All Korean rabies virus (RABV) isolates collected from animals diagnosed with rabies were subjected to phylogenetic analysis. The similarities in the nucleotide sequence of the nucleoprotein (N-) gene among all Korean isolates ranged from 98.1% to 99.8%. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Korean isolates were most closely related to the eastern Chinese strain. An epidemiological study indicated that the Korean RABV isolates originated from rabid raccoon dogs in north-eastern Asia. Preventive measures, including mass vaccination, the slaughter of stray dogs and distribution of bait vaccines, were responsible for a substantial decrease in the number of rabies cases in Korea.