Parasites, Hosts and Diseases

The Korea Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (대한기생충학·열대의학회)
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Prevalence of cryptosporidiosis among the villagers and domestic animals in several rural areas of Korea

  • Yu, Jae-Ran (Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Konkuk University) ;
  • Lee, Jong-Kyu (Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Konkuk University) ;
  • Seo, Min (Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Dankook University) ;
  • Kim, Seok-Il (Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Chosun University) ;
  • Sohn, Woon-Mok (Department of Parasitology and Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine) ;
  • Huh, Sun (Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Hallym University) ;
  • Choi, Hae-Yeon (Chungbuk Vetarinary Service Laboratory, North Branch) ;
  • Kim, Tong-Soo (Division of Medical Zoology, National Institute of Health)
  • Published : 2004.03.01
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Abstract

The present study was undertaken to investigate the infection status of Cryptosporidium parvum in the villagers and the reservoir hosts in several rural areas in Korea. A total 5,262 fecal samples were collected from the inhabitants residing at Gangwon-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Jeollanam-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do between the dates of September, 2001 to June, 2002. In addition, 1,453 fecal samples were collected from livestock reared in Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do and Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do. All the fecal smears were prepared by formalin-ether sedimentation, and examined by light microscopy after modified acid-fast staining. The overall positive rate of human cryptosporidiosis was 3.3%. Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do showed a 8.2% positive rate and appeared as the highest endemic area among the surveyed areas. Haman-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do showed a 0.4% positive rate and was the lowest endemic area. The positive rate of livestock infection in Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do was 94%, which was more than ten times higher than that of Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (9.3%). From these results, it was revealed that cryptosporidiosis was an endemic disease in some rural areas of Korea, and the livestock could be an important source of human infection.

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References

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