Epidemiological Changes in Acute Febrile Diseases after the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand
Issued Date
2025-02-05
Resource Type
eISSN
14761645
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85218338458
Pubmed ID
39561404
Journal Title
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
Volume
112
Issue
2
Start Page
414
End Page
421
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene Vol.112 No.2 (2025) , 414-421
Suggested Citation
Prasertbun R., Mori H., Hadano Y., Mahittikorn A., Maude R.R., Naito T. Epidemiological Changes in Acute Febrile Diseases after the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene Vol.112 No.2 (2025) , 414-421. 421. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.24-0017 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/105538
Title
Epidemiological Changes in Acute Febrile Diseases after the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand
Corresponding Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses (AUFIs) are short-duration infectious diseases with nonspecific symptoms. In Thailand, common AUFIs include dengue, malaria, leptospirosis, scrub typhus, and typhoid fever. This study aimed to determine the case numbers of AUFI etiologies in Thailand before coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (phase 1 from January 2018 to February 2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic with preventive measures (phase 2 from March 2020 to April 2022), and the loosening of the preventive measures (phase 3 from May 2022 to December 2022). We used Thailand's national database from 2018 to 2022 to determine the case numbers of AUFIs and geographic heat maps to identify endemic areas in Thailand. The case numbers of malaria, dengue, leptospirosis, typhoid, and scrub typhus significantly decreased during phase 2 (preventive measures) (P = 0.02), and cases of malaria and leptospirosis increased during phase 3 (loosened preventive measures) (P = 0.01). In 2022, malaria and leptospirosis increased by 39% and 48%, respectively, compared with the previous year. Malaria increased in western Thailand along the border between Thailand and Myanmar, where malaria preventive measures were insufficient, whereas leptospirosis increased in northern Thailand. The epidemiology of acute febrile diseases changes significantly depending on the global epidemic of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and the implementation of preventive measures, such as face masks, hand hygiene, social distancing, and stay-at-home and lockdown measures.