Simian malaria is a zoonotic disease caused by Plasmodium knowlesi infection. The common natural reservoir of the parasite is the macaque monkey and the vector is the Anopheles mosquito. Human cases of P. knowlesi infection has been reported in all South East Asian countries in the last decade, and it is currently the most common type of malaria seen in Malaysia and Brunei. Between 2007–2017, 73 cases of P. knowlesi infection were notified and confirmed to the Ministry of Health in Brunei. Of these, 15 cases (21%) were documented as work-related, and 28 other cases (38%) were classified as probably related to work (due to incomplete history). The occupations of those with probable and confirmed work related infections were border patrol officers, Armed Forces and security personnel, Department of Forestry officers, boatmen and researchers. The remaining cases classified as most likely not related to work were possibly acquired via peri-domestic transmission. The risk of this zoonotic infection extends to tourists and overseas visitors who have to travel to the jungle in the course of their work. It can be minimised with the recommended use of prophylaxis for those going on duty into the jungles, application of mosquito/insect repellants, and use of repellant impregnated uniforms and bed nets in jungle camp sites.
Anopheles ; Arm ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Brunei ; Culicidae ; Forestry ; Haplorhini ; Humans ; Macaca ; Malaria ; Malaysia ; Occupations ; Parasites ; Plasmodium knowlesi ; Plasmodium ; Zoonoses

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare the diabetic management indicators between agriculture, forestry, and fishery workers (AFF) and other occupational adults (non-AFF) in community-dwelling diabetes. METHODS: The study population consisted of 22,127 diabetic population ≥19 years who participated in the 2015 Community Health Survey. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis was used to compare the diabetic management indicators between AFF and non-AFF. Socioeconomic characteristics such as age, gender, education level, monthly household income, National Basic Livelihood Security status, and marital status was sequentially adjusted. RESULTS: Among total diabetic population, 3,712 people (16.8%) was AFF and 18,415 people (83.2%) was non-AFF. The fully-adjusted odds ratio [OR] (95% confidence interval [CI]) of current non-medical treatment (0.72, 0.66–0.79), measurement of hemoglobin A1c (0.61, 0.55–0.67), screening for diabetic retinopathy (0.76, 0.70–0.83), screening for diabetic nephropathy (0.75, 0.70–0.81), non-alcoholic or moderate drinking (0.70, 0.64–0.78), nutrition label reading (0.83, 0.71–0.98), low salt preference (0.85, 0.78–0.93), dental examination (0.60, 0.54–0.66), scaling experience (0.84, 0.77–0.93), regular toothbrushing (0.66, 0.58–0.76), and diabetes management education (0.84, 0.77–0.92) was significantly lower in AFF compared to non-AFF. In contrast, the fully-adjusted OR (95% CI) of AFF's low stress level (1.39, 1.26–1.52) and adequate sleep duration (1.22, 1.13–1.32) was significantly higher than non-AFF, which are better indicators of diabetic management in AFF. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the level of diabetes management of AFF was not as good as that of non-AFF. In order to improve the level of diabetes management of AFF, a delicate diabetes intervention strategy considering the occupational characteristics of AFF will be needed.
Adult ; Agriculture* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; Disease Management ; Drinking ; Education ; Family Characteristics ; Farmers ; Fisheries* ; Forestry* ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Marital Status ; Mass Screening ; Odds Ratio ; Toothbrushing

OBJECTIVES: Scrub typhus is the most common febrile disease in Korea during the autumn. Jeju Island is the largest island in South Korea and has a distinctive oceanic climate. This study aimed to identify epidemiologic characteristics of scrub typhus on Jeju Island. METHODS: From January 2011 to December 2016, 446 patients were diagnosed with scrub typhus on Jeju Island. The patients' personal data and the environmental factors that might be related to scrub typhus were investigated and retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 58-years-old (range, 8 to 91) and 43% of them worked in the agricultural, forestry or livestock industry. Regardless of their job, 87% of the patients had a history of either working outdoors or of other activities before developing scrub typhus. The south and southeast regions of Jeju Island, especially Namwon-eup, showed the highest incidence of scrub typhus. Workers in mandarin orange orchards seemed to be the highest risk group for scrub typhus infection. CONCLUSIONS: Scrub typhus on Jeju Island showed unique characteristics. To efficiently prevent scrub typhus, each year individual regional approaches should be developed based on the epidemiologic characteristics of the disease.
Citrus sinensis ; Climate ; Forestry ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Livestock ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Rickettsia ; Scrub Typhus*

OBJECTIVES: Scrub typhus is the most common febrile disease in Korea during the autumn. Jeju Island is the largest island in South Korea and has a distinctive oceanic climate. This study aimed to identify epidemiologic characteristics of scrub typhus on Jeju Island.METHODS: From January 2011 to December 2016, 446 patients were diagnosed with scrub typhus on Jeju Island. The patients' personal data and the environmental factors that might be related to scrub typhus were investigated and retrospectively analyzed.RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 58-years-old (range, 8 to 91) and 43% of them worked in the agricultural, forestry or livestock industry. Regardless of their job, 87% of the patients had a history of either working outdoors or of other activities before developing scrub typhus. The south and southeast regions of Jeju Island, especially Namwon-eup, showed the highest incidence of scrub typhus. Workers in mandarin orange orchards seemed to be the highest risk group for scrub typhus infection.CONCLUSIONS: Scrub typhus on Jeju Island showed unique characteristics. To efficiently prevent scrub typhus, each year individual regional approaches should be developed based on the epidemiologic characteristics of the disease.
Citrus sinensis ; Climate ; Forestry ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Livestock ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Rickettsia ; Scrub Typhus

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence and risk factors of undercorrected refractive error in South Korea. METHODS: We analyzed 36,162 participants for estimating prevalence using the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2008-2012). Undercorrected refractive error was defined as an improvement of at least 2 lines in best corrected visual acuity compared with the presenting visual acuity in the right eye. Proportion of undercorrected refractive error by occupation was presented, and associated sociodemographic factors were evaluated by multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of undercorrected refractive error among all participants and among adults was 8.5% (n/N, 6,954/36,162) and 18.8% (n/N, 3,980/19,884), respectively. The proportion of undercorrected refractive error was higher among those with did not wear spectacles or contact lenses (23.1%) than among spectacle or contact lens wearers (8.1%). The proportion of participants who gained more than four or more lines of best corrected visual acuity was 7.2% (n = 2,606) for the all age group. In terms of occupation, farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (22.8%, 570/2,499) and laborer (20.2%, 497/2,457) were more likely to have undercorrected refractive error. Age groups of 10s, 70s, or 80s (30s as a reference group), female sex, lower income, lower education level, and living without a spouse were associated with undercorrected refractive error. CONCLUSIONS: People of older age, female sex, and lower socioeconomic status were more likely to have undercorrected refractive error. This suggests that a public-health approach is needed for preventing visual impairment via proper vision correction.
Adult ; Agriculture ; Contact Lenses ; Education ; Eyeglasses ; Female ; Forestry ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Nutrition Surveys ; Occupations ; Prevalence* ; Refractive Errors* ; Risk Factors* ; Social Class ; Spouses ; Vision Disorders ; Vision, Low ; Visual Acuity

The purpose of this study was to determine the oral health condition and behavioral status of Korean adults according to occupational status. The subjects were 7,676 adults, aged between 19 and 64 years, who completed both oral examination and questionnaire survey, among those who indicated that they were currently participating in economic activities, according to the data from the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Occupational class and employment status were selected as measures of occupational status. Complex-samples logistic regression models were used to assess the associations among oral health, behavioral, and occupational statuses. We found a significant occupational class-related difference in the oral health and behavioral statuses of both the men and women. In particular, the prevalence odds ratios of untreated dental caries in manual workers were 1.19 and 1.67 times higher than in non-manual workers, for men and women, respectively. As for oral health condition and behavioral status according to employment status, the health risk in temporary employment workers was higher than that in permanent employment workers. As for the prevalence odds ratios of the risk of dental caries, the highest values were observed for tooth brushing fewer than 3 times per day, not undergoing oral examinations, and chewing difficulty complaints. The risk of dental caries for agricultural, forestry, and fishing workers for both men and women was found to be the highest among other workers. Thus, strategies to promote workplace oral health in the microscopic and macroscopic perspectives should be developed to constantly monitor oral health problems, and to identify vulnerable social groups within occupational groups and the related factors that mediate oral health differences.
Adult* ; Dental Caries ; Diagnosis, Oral ; Employment* ; Female ; Forestry ; Health Status Disparities ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Mastication ; Nutrition Surveys ; Occupational Groups ; Odds Ratio ; Oral Health* ; Prevalence ; Tooth

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to analyze the index value trends of injured employed persons (IEPs) covered in Pakistan Labour Force Surveys from 2001-02 to 2012-13. METHODS: The index value method based on reference years and reference groups was used to analyze the IEP trends in terms of different criteria such as gender, area, employment status, industry types, occupational groups, types of injury, injured body parts, and treatment received. The Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was also performed to investigate the inter-relationship of different occupational variables. RESULTS: The values of IEP increased at the end of the studied year in industry divisions such as agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing, followed by in manufacturing and construction industry divisions. People associated with major occupations (such as skilled agricultural and fishery workers) and elementary (unskilled) occupations were found to be at an increasing risk of occupational injuries/diseases with an increasing IEP trend. Types of occupational injuries such as sprain or strain, superficial injury, and dislocation increased during the studied years. Major injured parts of body such as upper limb and lower limb found with increasing trend. Types of treatment received, including hospitalization and no treatment, were found to decrease. Increased IEP can be justified due to inadequate health care facilities, especially in rural areas by increased IEP in terms of gender, areas, received treatment, occupational groups and employment status as results found after Pearson correlation coefficient analysis. CONCLUSION: The increasing trend in the IEP% of the total employed persons due to agrarian activities shows that there is a need to improve health care setups in rural areas of Pakistan.
Agriculture ; Construction Industry ; Delivery of Health Care ; Dislocations ; Employment ; Fisheries ; Forestry ; Hospitalization ; Human Body ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Occupational Diseases ; Occupational Groups ; Occupational Injuries ; Occupations ; Pakistan* ; Sprains and Strains ; Upper Extremity

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the relationship between the total injury experience rate and socioeconomic status based on the fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). METHODS: By analyzing data from the fourth KNHANES conducted from 2007 to 2009, we estimated the injury experience rate according to socioeconomic status, including the occupational characteristics of 11,837 subjects. Setting the injury experience rate as a dependent variable and socioeconomic status as an independent variable, we performed logistic regression to calculate odds ratios reflecting the likelihood of injury according to socioeconomic status while controlling for relevant covariates. RESULTS: In 797 subjects who had injury experience over the past 1 year, 290 persons (36.4%) had a work-related injury. As their income, home value, and educational status increased, their injury experiences decreased. Among occupational groups, the craft, equipment, machine operating, and assembling workers showed the highest rate (10.6%) of injury experience, and the lowest rate (5.7%) was found in the unemployed group. After adjusting for the confounding variables, the experience of injury was significantly related to several socioeconomic factors: high income (OR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.34-0.86), high home value (OR = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.43-0.96), low education status (OR = 1.28; 95% CI: 1.07-1.52), and specific occupations such as craft, equipment, machine operating, and assembling work (OR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.60-2.47), skilled agriculture, forestry and fishery work (OR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.02-2.01), and simple labor (OR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.04-1.82). CONCLUSIONS: The injury experience rate differed depending on the socioeconomic status. A negative correlation was found between the injury experience rate and income, low home value, and education level. Moreover, a higher rate of injury experience was found in occupation groups and physical worker groups in comparison to the unemployed group and white-collar worker groups. This study would be useful in selecting appropriate priorities for injury management in Korea.
Agriculture ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Education ; Educational Status ; Fisheries ; Forestry ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Occupational Groups ; Occupations ; Odds Ratio ; Social Class* ; Socioeconomic Factors

Previous studies on the vast increase in suicide mortality in Southeast Asia have indicated that suicide rates increase in parallel with a rise in unemployment or during periods of economic recession. This paper examines the effects of economic recession on suicidal rates amongst agriculture, fisheries, and forestry workers in Korea. Monthly time-series gross domestic product (GDP) data were linked with suicidal rates gathered from the cause of death records between1993-2008. Data were analyzed using generalized additive models to analyze trends, while a polynomial lag model was used to assess the unconstrained time lag effects of changes in GDP on suicidal rate. We found that there were significant inverse correlations between changes in GDP and suicide for a time lag of one to four months after the occurrence of economic event. Furthermore, it was evident that the overall relative risks of suicide were high enough to bring about social concern.
Agriculture ; Asia, Southeastern ; Cause of Death ; Economic Recession ; Fisheries ; Forestry ; Gross Domestic Product ; Guanosine Diphosphate ; Korea ; Suicide ; Unemployment

Previous studies on the vast increase in suicide mortality in Southeast Asia have indicated that suicide rates increase in parallel with a rise in unemployment or during periods of economic recession. This paper examines the effects of economic recession on suicidal rates amongst agriculture, fisheries, and forestry workers in Korea. Monthly time-series gross domestic product (GDP) data were linked with suicidal rates gathered from the cause of death records between1993-2008. Data were analyzed using generalized additive models to analyze trends, while a polynomial lag model was used to assess the unconstrained time lag effects of changes in GDP on suicidal rate. We found that there were significant inverse correlations between changes in GDP and suicide for a time lag of one to four months after the occurrence of economic event. Furthermore, it was evident that the overall relative risks of suicide were high enough to bring about social concern.
Agriculture ; Asia, Southeastern ; Cause of Death ; Economic Recession ; Fisheries ; Forestry ; Gross Domestic Product ; Guanosine Diphosphate ; Korea ; Suicide ; Unemployment