Objectives Chikungunya poses an increasing threat to people living in endemic areas and to travelers from non-endemic regions. This study descriptively characterized imported chikungunya cases in Japan and explored the relationship between local incidence in destination areas and infection risk among Japanese travelers.
Methods First, the descriptive features of imported chikungunya cases in Japan from 2011 to 2023 were examined. Second, monthly and yearly trends in the incidence of imported chikungunya cases among Japanese travelers were compared by destination with incidence in the corresponding destination country. Third, destination-specific incidence among Japanese travelers was compared between high- and low-transmission seasons in each destination country.
Results Of 155 imported chikungunya cases in Japan during 2011–2023, 112 (72.3%) were associated with travel to Myanmar, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, or Thailand. The yearly chikungunya importation rate among Japanese travelers returning from Indonesia and Thailand was correlated with the corresponding rate among local residents. The monthly incidence of imported cases during the high-transmission season was 12.3, 7.4, 12.0, and 4.0 times higher than that during the low-transmission season among travelers returning from Myanmar, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, respectively.
Conclusion The risk of imported chikungunya infection among Japanese travelers reflected the local epidemiology of chikungunya in destination countries, including both seasonal and long-term patterns. Imported-case data may support risk assessment in destination countries and contribute to traveler-specific prevention, improved diagnosis, and a reduced risk of autochthonous outbreaks.
<p>This report describes the air evacuation of 80 Koreans from Iran to Korea on March 19<sup>th</sup>, 2020, with a direct transfer of passengers between airplanes in Dubai. The passengers were potentially infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) so, strict precautions were taken for the duration of the flight, and the passengers were screened before embarking from Dubai and disembarking at Incheon International Airport in Korea. Passengers with fever or symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 were assessed by a quarantine doctor, and if they were suspected of being infected with SARS-CoV-2, they were categorized as a “patient under investigation (PUI)”. There was 1 passenger designated as a PUI before the departure from Dubai and another designated as a PUI upon arrival into Korea. The first PUI tested negative, but the second PUI tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. All those aboard the flight (passengers, aircrew, and medical staff) were screened for SARS-CoV-2 upon arrival into Korea and completed a mandatory 14-day medical quarantine. There were no additional cases of infection.</p>
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Risk of COVID-19 transmission on long-haul flights: During the COVID-19 pandemic Jiyun Park, Gye jeong Yeom, Poowin Bunyavejchewin PLOS ONE.2024; 19(8): e0309044. CrossRef
International travel-related control measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review Jacob Burns, Ani Movsisyan, Jan M Stratil, Renke L Biallas, Michaela Coenen, Karl MF Emmert-Fees, Karin Geffert, Sabine Hoffmann, Olaf Horstick, Michael Laxy, Carmen Klinger, Suzie Kratzer, Tim Litwin, Susan Norris, Lisa M Pfadenhauer, Peter von Philipsbo Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
<sec>
<title>Objectives</title>
<p>To estimate the number and risk of imported infections resulting from people visiting Asian and Latin American countries.</p></sec>
<sec>
<title>Methods</title>
<p>The dataset of visitors to 5 Asian countries with dengue were analyzed for 2016 and 2017, and in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, imported cases of zika virus infection were also reported. For zika virus, a single imported case was reported from Brazil in 2016, and 2 imported cases reported from the Maldives in 2017. To understand the transmissibility in 5 Southeast Asian countries, the estimate of the force of infection, i.e., the hazard of infection per year and the average duration of travel has been extracted. Outbound travel numbers were retrieved from the World Tourism Organization, including business travelers.</p></sec>
<sec>
<title>Results</title>
<p>The incidence of imported dengue in 2016 was estimated at 7.46, 15.00, 2.14, 4.73 and 2.40 per 100,000 travelers visiting Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, respectively. Similarly, 2.55, 1.65, 1.53, 1.86 and 1.70 per 100,000 travelers in 2017, respectively. It was estimated that there were 60.1 infections (range: from 16.8 to 150.7 infections) with zika virus in Brazil, 2016, and 345.6 infections (range: from 85.4 to 425.5 infections) with zika virus in the Maldives, 2017.</p></sec>
<sec>
<title>Conclusion</title>
<p>This study emphasizes that dengue and zika virus infections are mild in their nature, and a substantial number of infections may go undetected. An appropriate risk assessment of zika virus infection must use the estimated total size of infections.</p></sec>
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Zika virus infection in a German traveller to the Maldives, August 2025 Hans Martin Orth, David Meierkord, Martha Charlotte Holtfreter, Tom Luedde, Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, Torsten Feldt Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease.2026; 70: 102960. CrossRef
Estimating the incidence of dengue in international air travelers from non-endemic countries between 2010–2019 Matt D. T. Hitchings, Yi Xu, Bernardo García-Carreras, Adriana Gallagher, Justin J. O’Hagan, Derek A. T. Cummings, Michael R Holbrook PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.2025; 19(7): e0013291. CrossRef
To compare the epidemiological characteristics of dengue cases imported by travelers or immigration in both Korea and Japan, we determined dengue incidence and related risk factors. During 2006–2010, 367 and 589 imported dengue cases were reported in Korea and Japan, respectively. In Korea, the presumptive origins for the dengue infections were Southeast Asia (82.6%), Southern Asia (13.9%), Eastern Asia (1.1%), South America (0.3%), Central America (0.3%), Africa (0.3%), and other countries (1.6%). In Japan, the origins of the infections were Southeast Asia (69.8%), Southern Asia (20.0%), Eastern Asia (1.7%), South America (2.5%), Central America (1.2%), Africa (1.2%), Oceania (2.4%), and other countries (1.2%). In both countries, more dengue cases were reported for men than for women (<i>p</i> < 0.01), and those aged 20–30 years accounted for > 60% of the total cases. The frequency of imported cases in summer and autumn (∼70% of total cases) was similar in both countries. This study demonstrates that there is a similar pattern of imported dengue cases in Korea and Japan. Therefore, there is a risk of an autochthonous dengue outbreak in Korea, as indicated by the recent outbreak in Japan in 2014.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Effect of cross-immunity on the transmission of a two serotypes co-infected dengue model under deterministic and stochastic environments Gopal Chandra Sikdar, Pritam Saha, Uttam Ghosh Nonlinear Dynamics.2025; 113(15): 20465. CrossRef
Molecular and Haematological Analysis of Dengue Virus-3 Among Children in Lahore, Pakistan Muhammad Kashif, Muhammad Afzal, Basit Zeshan, Hasnain Javed, Salma Batool, Modasrah Mazhar Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Molecular evolution of dengue virus types 1 and 4 in Korean travelers Eun-Ha Hwang, Green Kim, Hoyin Chung, Hanseul Oh, Jong-Hwan Park, Gyeung Haeng Hur, JungJoo Hong, Bon-Sang Koo Archives of Virology.2021; 166(4): 1103. CrossRef
Aedes albopictus and Aedes flavopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) pre-imaginal abundance patterns are associated with different environmental factors along an altitudinal gradient Luis Fernando Chaves, Mariel D. Friberg Current Research in Insect Science.2021; 1: 100001. CrossRef
Evolution, heterogeneity and global dispersal of cosmopolitan genotype of Dengue virus type 2 Surya Pavan Yenamandra, Carmen Koo, Suzanna Chiang, Han Shi Jeri Lim, Zhen Yuan Yeo, Lee Ching Ng, Hapuarachchige Chanditha Hapuarachchi Scientific Reports.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Temporal Trend ofAedes albopictusin Local Urban Parks of the Republic of Korea Myung-Jae Hwang, Jong-Hun Kim, Heung-Chul Kim, Myung Soon Kim, Terry A Klein, Juhwa Choi, Kisung Sim, Yeonseung Chung, Yadav Prasad Joshi, Hae-Kwan Cheong, Kristen Healy Journal of Medical Entomology.2020; 57(4): 1082. CrossRef
A Two-Patch Mathematical Model for Temperature-Dependent Dengue Transmission Dynamics Jung Kim, Yongin Choi, James Kim, Sunmi Lee, Chang Lee Processes.2020; 8(7): 781. CrossRef
Potential effects of climate change on dengue transmission dynamics in Korea Hyojung Lee, Jung Eun Kim, Sunmi Lee, Chang Hyeong Lee, Shamala Devi Sekaran PLOS ONE.2018; 13(6): e0199205. CrossRef
Analysis of Dengue Virus Burden and Serotypes Pattern in Faisalabad, 2016–2017 Muhammad Yousaf, Kashaf Junaid, Muhammad Sarfaraz Iqbal, Imran Aslam, Sheraz Ahmad, Muhammad Aqeel, Usman Ali Ashfaq, Saba Khaliq, Muhammad Usman Ghani, Nayyar Waqar Future Virology.2018; 13(4): 245. CrossRef
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis with ELISA and Rapid Diagnostic Test among Residents in Gyodong-do, Inchon city, Korea: A Four-Year Follow-up Yeong Hoon Kim, Ji hoo Lee, Seong kyu Ahn, Tong-Soo Kim, Sung-Jong Hong, Chom-Kyu Chong, Hye-Jin Ahn, Ho-Woo Nam The Korean Journal of Parasitology.2017; 55(3): 247. CrossRef
A Disease Around the Corner Hae-Wol Cho, Chaeshin Chu Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives.2016; 7(1): 1. CrossRef
WITHDRAWN: A disease around the corner Hae-Wol Cho, Chaeshin Chu Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives.2016;[Epub] CrossRef
Prospects for dengue vaccines for travelers Sl-Ki Lim, Yong Seok Lee, Suk Namkung, Jacqueline K Lim, In-Kyu Yoon Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research.2016; 5(2): 89. CrossRef
First
Prev
