Korean vivax malaria had been prevalent for longtime throughout the country with low endemicity. As a result of the Korean war (1950-1953), malaria became epidemic. In 1959-1969 when the National Malaria Eradication Service (NMES) was implemented, malaria rates declined, with low endemicity in the south-west and south plain areas and high endemic foci in north Kyongsangbuk-do (province) and north and east Kyonggi-do. NMES activities greatly contributed in accelerating the control and later eradication of malaria. The Republic of Korea (South Korea) was designated malaria free in 1979. However, malaria re-emerged in 1993 and an outbreak occurred in north Kyonggi-do and north-west Kangwon-do (in and/or near the Demilitarized Zone, DMZ), bordering North Korea. It has been postulated that most of the malaria cases resulted from bites of sporozoite-infected females of An. sinensis dispersed from North Korea across the DMZ. Judging from epidemiological and socio-ecological factors, vivax malaria would not be possible to be endemic in South Korea. Historical data show that vivax malaria in Korea is a typical unstable malaria. Epidemics may occur when environmental, socio-economical, and/or political factors change in favor to malaria transmission, and when such factors change to normal conditions malaria rates become low and may disappear. Passive case detection is a most feasible and recommendable control measure against the unstable vivax malaria in Korea in cost-effect point of view.

During the period of 1933-1994, house dusts were collected from 65 homes at 10 different localities by operating electric vacuum cleaners. House dust mites were isolated from 10 g dust by applying the modified wet sieving method. Total 7,257 mites were collected and 23 species were identified. Among them. Dermatophagoides farinae (DF) was predominant (65.3% of the total), followed by D. pteronyssinus (DP) (20.6%) and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (TP) (6.5%). Rhizoglyphus robini. Sancassania phyllophagianus, Cheyletus traussarti and Scheloribates latipes were the first findings from Korea. DF was predominant in Seoul (66.8%). Kwangju (63.6%), inland of Pusan (79.6%), Inchon (96.5%). Taejon (83.9%), Chonju (87.15) and Chongju (95.2%), whereas DP was predominant in Yongkwang-ub (72.5%) and Yongdo (island) of Pusan (64.9%), and TP in Chunchon (38.2%). The localities where DP and TP were predominant showed higher relative humidity in air (> 73% RH). Among 62 study homes, DF, DP and TP were found in 24.6% of the homes, co-habitat of two species in 48.1% and one species in 27.3%. DF was predominant in 63.5% of the homes studied. DP in 29.6% and TP in 6.9%. In 10 g of the house dust, less than 99 mites were found in 49 homes (70.0%), 100-499 mites in 11 homes (15.7%). 500-999 mites in 3 homes (4.3%) and more than 1,000 mites in 2 homes (2.9%). No mite was found in 5 homes (7.1%). In order to evaluate environmental factors affecting the population density of house dust mites, house type, age of house construction, size of the house, number of the family and frequency of the cleaning were compared with the number of mites, and none of the above factors were statistically correlated with the mite density.

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Tropomyosin represents a minor allergen in cockroach extracts. It is hoped that recombinant tropomyosin will be useful for further studies and clinical applications.

Abstract. Malaria had been eradicated in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) by the late 1970s. In 1993, a soldier was infected with Plasmodium vivax malaria in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ; the border area between North and South Korea), and since then, the number of cases has been steadily increasing year after year. In 1998, 3,932 vivax malaria cases were microscopically confirmed, affecting 2,784 (70.8%) soldiers (including discharged soldiers) and 1,148 (29.2%) civilians. These cases occurred throughout the year, peaking in July (30.1%) and August (30.5%). Most of the patients were infected in areas in or near the DMZ. Taking into consideration entomologic, socioecologic, and epidemiologic factors, it is postulated that there has been an epidemic of malaria in North Korea since 1993, with the number of cases increasing yearly; the continuous infiltration across the DMZ from North Korea of infected female mosquitoes of the vector species Anopheles sinensis resulted in an outbreak of vivax malaria in the DMZ of South Korea.