Last year, reported cases of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) rose by 64.7% while related deaths climbed 57.7%, according to data published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on September 30, 2026. The figures appear in the agency’s newly released “2026 One Health Annual Report,” which tracks zoonotic diseases across human, animal, and environmental sectors.
Surge in Zoonotic and Foodborne Infections
The KDCA report details notable increases across several priority zoonotic and foodborne pathogens for the 2025 calendar year. SFTS infections reached 280 cases, up from 170 cases in 2024, while fatalities grew from 26 to 41 over the same period. Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections nearly doubled, jumping 93.8% from 274 reported cases to 531. Sentinel surveillance for Salmonella infections recorded 4,446 cases, representing a 17.3% increase from 3,789 cases the previous year, alongside 79 outbreaks affecting 3,915 individuals. Q fever notifications similarly rose 26.3% from 57 to 72 cases. Among multidrug-resistant pathogens, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) infections climbed 15.8% to 49,053 cases, up from 42,346.
Contrasting Declines in Vector-Borne Pathogens
Not all monitored diseases followed an upward trajectory. Japanese encephalitis cases experienced a sharp 66.7% decline, dropping from 21 reported infections in 2024 to just 7 in 2025, with zero reported fatalities compared to 7 deaths the prior year. Toxoplasmosis cases decreased 36.8% from 38 to 24, and zoonotic tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) fell from 3 cases in 2024 to zero in 2025. A broader 10-year trend analysis covering 2016 through 2025 confirmed persistent upward trajectories for Salmonella, Campylobacter, STEC, and CRE infections, whereas SFTS demonstrated yearly fluctuations before its sharp increase in 2025.
Integration of Human, Animal, and Environmental Surveillance
To improve early detection, the KDCA expanded its One Health framework—an approach linking human health with animal and environmental factors. While enhanced monitoring programs uncovered three additional cases of zoonotic tuberculosis among previously reported human tuberculosis patients between 2023 and 2024, officials emphasize that raw case counts cannot be interpreted in isolation due to shifts in surveillance capacity and reporting criteria. Because human and animal monitoring systems rely on differing legal frameworks and methodologies, the 2026 report incorporates livestock, companion animal, wildlife, and vector data.
Data linkage between human, animal, and vector indicators proved particularly vital for tracking SFTS and Japanese encephalitis. Animal surveillance data regarding influenza outbreaks and livestock mortality now serve as early warning indicators for potential human infection risks. Supporting this coordinated approach, the government established the National One Health Infectious Disease Integrated Management Council under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, which held its inaugural meeting on July 30 following the law’s implementation on June 24.
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