Tick alert issued across Jeju
Some transmit deadly SFTS virus

An alert has been issued in Jeju for wild ticks, because some of them can transmit the virus that causes Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, commonly known as SFTS.

The provincial government says people should avoid sitting or lying down on grass and that they should use a repellant to avoid being bit by the insects.

Officials are also advising people to dust and wash their clothes after returning home from outdoor activities… and maintain a good level of hygiene through frequent bathing.

SFTS is a deadly disease with a fatality rate as high as 30 percent. Major symptoms are fever, vomiting, diarrhea, bloody urine, and multiple organ failure. In 2015, nine people in Jeju were infected and one died from the virus.

제주지역 야생진드기 주의보 발령

SFTS, 즉 중증열성혈소판감소증후군의 매개체인
진드기 활동시기가 시작되면서
야외활동에 각별한 주의가 요구되고 있습니다.

이에 따라 제주특별자치도는 야외에서 활동할 경우
풀밭 위에 그대로 눕지 말고 진드기 기피제 사용을 당부하고 있습니다.

또 야외활동 후에는 반드시 옷을 털어 세탁하고
샤워나 목욕으로 청결상태를 유지할 것을 강조하고 있습니다.

SFTS는 진드기 매개 바이러스성 감염병으로
지난해 제주에서 9명의 환자가 발생해 1명이 사망한 바 있습니다.