Epidemiological Characterization of Imported Systemic Mycoses Occurred in Korea

OBJECTIVES: Imported systemic mycoses is a severe fungal infection that can cause diseases in healthy people. However, there is a serious lack of epidemiological data about imported systemic mycoses. Therefore, an epidemiological characterization of imported systemic mycoses in Korea was performed. METHODS: We collected health insurance data between 2008 and 2012 from the Health Insurance Corporation and analyzed the data to determine the prevalence and treatment management of imported systemic mycoses. RESULTS: The prevalence of imported systemic mycoses between 2008 and 2012 increased slowly by 0.49/100,000 to 0.53/100,000 persons. The prevalence of coccidioidomycosis increased from 0.28/100,000 in 2008 to 0.36/100,000 persons in 2012. A mean of 229.6 cases occurred each year. Children and the elderly showed higher prevalence than adults in the 20- to 59-year-old age group. The rate of infection according to region ranged from 0.18/100,000 persons in Ulsan, to 0.59/100,000 persons in Gyeonggi. The prevalence in females was higher than that in males. Inpatient treatment was 3.3% (38 cases), with 96.7% treated as outpatients. Hospitalizations cost 272.7 million won and outpatient treatments cost 111.7 million won. The treatment cost for coccidioidomycosis from 2008 to 2012 was 330.9 million won, with personal charges of 79.2 million won and insurance charges of 251.7 million won. Most of the expenses for the coccidioidomycosis treatment were for inpatient treatment. CONCLUSION: The results in this study may be a useful resource for determining the changes in the trend of imported systemic mycoses.