The number of chicken pox patients is likely to reach a record this year after an annual increase reported in 2012, according to data Friday from the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC). (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of chicken pox patients is likely to reach a record this year after an annual increase reported in 2012, according to data Friday from the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC).
KCDC received reports of 63,720 patients with the infectious disease as of Thursday, exceeding the 54,060 for the entire last year. This is the highest since the disease came under state monitoring in 2005.
Numbers from 2012 show a steady increase in the number of patients, from 27,763 that year to 37,361 in 2013, 44,450 in 2014 and 46,330 in 2015. Medical officials say such rises may partly be due to hospitals and health centers more actively reporting detected cases than in the past.
Chicken pox usually breaks out between April and June and between October and January.
“Chicken pox outbreaks normally peak in December. Now is the season when the number of patients increases, which is why we need to be especially careful,” said Lee Dong-han, head of infectious disease surveillance.
(Yonhap)
