Annual Fluctuation in Chigger Mite Populations and <italic>Orientia Tsutsugamushi</italic> Infections in Scrub Typhus Endemic Regions of South Korea

Abstract

The findings demonstrated a bimodal pattern of the incidence of <i>O. tsutsugamushi</i> infections. Higher infection rates were observed in both wild rodents and chigger mites, in Spring and Autumn. However, this did not reflect the unimodal incidence of scrub typhus in Autumn. Further studies are needed to identify factors, such as human behavior and harvesting in Autumn that may explain this discordance.