Pulmonary Embolism and Increased Levels of D-Dimer in Patients with Coronavirus Disease

should be effective in endemic areas with known tick seasons, when infestations are higher. Our findings indicate the zoonotic potential of dog ticks in South Korea. Physicians and public health officers therefore need to be aware of the high potential and clinical complexity of infection with R. raoultii and other tickborne pathogens in order to confirm suitable testing and treatment needs in endemic areas (10). Therefore, we strongly recommend continuous evaluation of the potential public health threat posed by infected ticks to humans in South Korea. A better understanding of local tick species, including H. longicornis, and a more thorough characterization of TBP agents, such as R. raoultii, are critical.

[1]  D. Griffin,et al.  Pulmonary Embolism and Increased Levels of D-Dimer in Patients with Coronavirus Disease , 2020, Emerging infectious diseases.

[2]  Guiqiang Wang,et al.  Cytokine release syndrome in severe COVID-19: interleukin-6 receptor antagonist tocilizumab may be the key to reduce mortality , 2020, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.

[3]  N. Mukaida,et al.  Crucial Involvement of IL-6 in Thrombus Resolution in Mice via Macrophage Recruitment and the Induction of Proteolytic Enzymes , 2020, Frontiers in Immunology.

[4]  Zhen Zhang,et al.  IL (Interleukin)-6 Contributes to Deep Vein Thrombosis and Is Negatively Regulated by miR-338-5p , 2019, Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology.

[5]  H. Kwon,et al.  Current Status of Tick-Borne Diseases in South Korea. , 2019, Vector borne and zoonotic diseases.

[6]  W. Liu,et al.  Isolation and Identification of Rickettsia raoultii in Human Cases: A Surveillance Study in 3 Medical Centers in China , 2018, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

[7]  S. Irani,et al.  Tocilizumab-associated multifocal cerebral thrombotic microangiopathy. , 2016, Neurology. Clinical practice.

[8]  Yong-Soo Park,et al.  Detection and Genotyping of Coxiella burnetii and Coxiella-Like Bacteria in Horses in South Korea , 2016, PloS one.

[9]  A. Richards,et al.  Spotted fever group rickettsia closely related to Rickettsia monacensis isolated from ticks in South Jeolla province, Korea , 2013, Microbiology and immunology.

[10]  J. Oteo,et al.  Tick-borne rickettsioses in Europe. , 2012, Ticks and tick-borne diseases.

[11]  D. Otranto,et al.  Ticks and tick-borne diseases: a One Health perspective. , 2012, Trends in parasitology.

[12]  Hongyuan Zheng,et al.  Seasonal abundance and activity of the hard tick Haemaphysalis longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae) in North China , 2011, Experimental and Applied Acarology.

[13]  W. Sames,et al.  Tick surveillance of dogs in the Republic of Korea , 2011 .