A 77-year-old man in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, who had shown symptoms of a killer tick virus died Monday, health authorities said.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control, the man was suspected to have been bitten by a tick and showed signs of thrombocytopenia syndrome, or SFTS.
The KCDC will conduct an epidemiologic investigation to define the cause of the death, officials said.
Currently, a total of 31 patients are suspected of having been infected by the virus, with two others confirmed by the KCDC as being killed by it.
