Influenza has entered its seasonal epidemic phase in South Korea five weeks earlier than usual ahead of the Chuseok holiday, while COVID-19 hospitalizations have continued to rise. Abroad, measles cases in Japan have reached their highest level in a decade, and health authorities urged the public to observe personal hygiene and preventive measures during the holiday as infectious disease risks grow across major travel destinations.
The rate of influenza-like illness reached 31.0 cases per 1,000 outpatients in the 37th week of the year, up from 25.3 the previous week, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on the 20th. That is about 4.6 times the 6.7 cases recorded in the same period last year. This year's influenza epidemic began in the 34th week, five weeks earlier than the usual 39th week.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also increasing. Hospital-level sentinel surveillance institutions reported 287 inpatients in the 37th week. The figure rose rapidly over the past four weeks, from 61 in the 34th week to 115 in the 35th, 193 in the 36th and 287 in the 37th. While the number remains below the 459 recorded in the same period last year, it has risen for eight consecutive weeks.
The agency called for caution among high-risk groups, including adults aged 65 and over and people with weakened immune systems, as family gatherings and travel increase during the holiday. It advised wearing masks in crowded indoor settings and avoiding contact with older adults and immunocompromised people when experiencing respiratory symptoms such as fever or coughing. Visitors to nursing facilities and medical institutions should also follow each institution's infection control rules, including mask requirements.
Travelers face different infectious disease risks depending on their destination. Japan recorded 549 measles cases through the end of August this year, the highest in a decade. Because people without immunity have more than a 90% chance of infection after contact with a measles patient, travelers should check whether they have received two doses of the MMR vaccine.
In Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, travelers should guard against mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever. Authorities recommend using insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved clothing while traveling. Visitors to China should avoid poultry farms and live poultry markets, and those who visit or transit through designated quarantine management areas such as Guangdong and Sichuan provinces must submit a Q-CODE or health declaration form upon entry.
Risks from food-borne and tick-borne infections are also rising at home. Through the 37th week of this year, there were 574 outbreaks of water- and food-borne infectious diseases involving 14,000 patients, up 20.8% and 29.4% respectively from the same period last year. Chuseok foods should be stored at 5 degrees Celsius or below and cooked thoroughly.
Outdoor activities such as visiting and tending ancestral graves also carry the risk of tick exposure. Over the past three years, 72.1% of cases of scrub typhus and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) were concentrated between September and November. Last year, about 66.7% of patients with major tick-borne infectious diseases were linked to farming, gardening or weeding work, according to the agency's analysis. The agency recommended wearing long clothing and using repellent, then showering immediately and washing clothes after returning home.
"We will maintain an emergency infection control system through the Chuseok holiday and operate the KDCA call center at 1339 around the clock," KDCA Commissioner Lim Seung-kwan said. "Please check in advance for information on infectious diseases to watch out for during the holiday, and practice preventive measures such as hand-washing and cough etiquette."
