• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.39-42
• /
• 2019

Zoonoses are the diseases that are transmitted to human being from vertebrate animals either from livestock animals or from wildlife. Recently, zoonoses are increasingly common as a result of incremental human-animal contact. Propagative infections in wild animals and livestock are transmitted to human beings who are encountered with them. In general, wild animals can transmit infectious agents to livestock, and then livestock further transmit them to human being is a simple model of on how zoonotic diseases get transmitted to human being. This model emphasizes the importance of early detection of zoonoses by surveillance at its incipient stage. Cooperation between the respective ministries plays an important role in the identification of zoonoses and planning for the formulation of better preventive and control policy and strategy. We will be able to predict the occurrence of zoonotic diseases in human on the basis of disease trends in wildlife and livestock once when we obtain the surveillance data and data generated by respective ministries through sound cooperation and collaboration.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.175-185
• /
• 2023

Recently, novel viral infections such as COVID-19 have spread and pose a serious public health problem. In particular, these diseases have a fatal effect on the elderly, threatening life and causing serious social and economic losses. Accordingly, applications such as telemedicine, healthcare, and disease prevention using the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) have been introduced in many industries to improve disease detection, monitoring, and quarantine performance. However, since existing technologies are not applied quickly and comprehensively to the sudden emergence of infectious diseases, they have not been able to prevent large-scale infection and the nationwide spread of infectious diseases in society. Therefore, in this paper, we try to predict the spread of infection by collecting various infection information with regional limitations through a virus disease information collector and performing AI analysis and severity matching through an AI broker. Finally, through the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, danger alerts are issued to the elderly, messages are sent to block the spread, and information on evacuation from infected areas is quickly provided. A realistic elderly support system compares the location information of the elderly with the information of the infected area and provides an intuitive danger area (infected area) avoidance function with an augmented reality-based smartphone application. When the elderly visit an infected area is confirmed, quarantine management services are provided automatically. In the future, the proposed system can be used as a method of preventing a crushing accident due to sudden crowd concentration in advance by identifying the location-based user density.

• Journal of fish pathology
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.121-129
• /
• 2011

Aquatic animal raised in hatcheries play an important role in supplying seedling to stock enhancement and seed quality, especially, seed health is the key factor for survival in the field after release and for stocking effectiveness. We have inspected the hatchery-reared seeds of 33 marine species and 12 freshwater species for legally designated diseases in stock enhancement program in 2010. Results showed that abalone was the most abundant as 20.0% in the marine species group and then sea cucumber (15.6%), olive flounder (8.4%), rockfish (6.7%), black sea bream (6.3%) and swimming crab (6.1%) were followed. Crucian carp was the most abundant as 19.4%, and then eel (11.8%), Korean bullhead (10.9%), mandarin fish (10.8%), melanian snail (8.4%), catfish (7.7%) were followed in the freshwater species group. The total number of inspection cases for eight pathogens in this study were 2,105 and disqualification cases were 30 by detection of aquatic animals pathogens such as koi herpesvirus (KHV), red sea bream iridovirus (RSIV), white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) or viral haemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV).

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.1055-1063
• /
• 2018

The aim of study was to investigate the correlation between the level of 17 antibiotic residues and 6 antibiotic resistances of Escherichia coli isolates in chicken meats. A total of 58 chicken meats were collected from retail grocery stores in five provinces in Korea. The total detection rate of antibiotic residues was 45% (26 out of 58). Ten out of 17 antibiotics were detected in chicken meats. None of the antibiotics exceeded the maximum residue level (MRLs) in chicken established by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). The most detected antibiotics were amoxicillin (15.5%), followed by enrofloxacin (12.1%) and sulfamethoxazole (10.3%). In a total of 58 chicken meats, 51 E. coli strains were isolated. E. coli isolates showed the highest resistance to ampicillin (75%), followed by tetracycline (69%), ciprofloxacin (65%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (41%), ceftiofur (22%), and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (12%). The results of study showed basic information on relationship between antibiotic residue and resistance for 6 compounds in 13 chicken samples. Further investigation on the antibiotic resistance patterns of various bacteria species is needed to improve food safety.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2013

Tetanus is a specific infectious disease, which is often associated with catastrophic events such as earthquakes, traumas, and war wounds. The obligate anaerobe Clostridium tetani is the pathogen that causes tetanus. Once the infection of tetanus progresses to an advanced stage within the wounds of limbs, the rates of amputation and mortality increase manifold. Therefore, it is necessary to devise a rapid and sensitive point-of-care detection method for C. tetani so as to ensure an early diagnosis and clinical treatment of tetanus. In this study, we developed a detection method for C. tetani using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, wherein the C. tetani tetanus toxin gene was used as the target gene. The method was highly specific and sensitive, with a detection limit of 10 colony forming units (CFU)/ml, and allowed quantitative analysis. While detecting C. tetani in clinical samples, it was found that the LAMP results completely agreed with those of the traditional API 20A anaerobic bacteria identification test. As compared with the traditional API test and PCR assay, LAMP detection of C. tetani is simple and rapid, and the results can be identified through naked-eye observation. Therefore, it is an ideal and rapid point-of-care testing method for tetanus.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.229-231
• /
• 2012

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite resulting in human infections and one of the infectious pathogens leading to uveitis and retinochoroiditis. The present study was performed to assess T. gondii infection in 20 ocular patients with chronic irregular recurrent uveitis (20 aqueous humor and 20 peripheral blood samples) using PCR. All samples were analyzed by nested PCR targeting a specific B1 gene of T. gondii. The PCR-positive rate was 25% (5/20), including 5% (1) in blood samples, 25% (5) in aqueous humor samples, and 5% (1) in both sample types. A molecular screening test for T. gondii infection in ocular patients with common clinical findings of an unclear retinal margin and an inflammatory membrane over the retina, as seen by fundus examination, may be helpful for early diagnosis and treatment.

• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.27-39
• /
• 2017

PCR-chip-based ultra-rapid multiplex PCRs for detection of six major infectious pathogens in honeybee were developed. The 6 kinds of major infectious pathogens in honeybee included Paenibacillus larvae causing American Foulbrood, Melissococcus plutonius causing European Foulbrood as bacteria, Ascosphaera apis (Chalkbrood), Aspergillus flavus (Stonebrood), Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae (Nosemosis) as fungi. The developed PCR-chip-based ultra-rapid multiplex PCR showed successful amplification for all six major pathogens in the presence of more than $10^3$ molecules. The time for confirming amplification (Threshold cycles; Ct-time) was about 7 minutes for two species, and about 9 minutes for four species. Total 40 cycles of PCR took 11 minutes 42 seconds and time for melting point analysis was 1 minute 15 seconds. Total time for whole PCR detection was estimated 12 minutes 57 seconds (40 cycles of PCR and melting point analysis). PCR-chip based ultra-rapid multiplex PCR using standard DNA substrates showed close to 100% accuracy and no false-amplification was found with honeybee genomic DNA. Ultra-rapid multiplex PCR is expected to be a fast and efficient pathogen detection method not only in the laboratory but also in the apiary field.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.60 no.2
• /
• pp.143-147
• /
• 2022

Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a rare ocular disease, but it is a painful and sight-threatening infectious disease. Early diagnosis and adequate treatment are necessary to prevent serious complications. While AK is frequently diagnosis via several PCR assays or Acanthamoeba-specific antibodies, a more specific and effective diagnostic method is required. This study described the production of a polyclonal peptide antibody against the periplasmic binding protein (PBP) of A. castellanii and investigated its diagnostic potential. Western blot analysis showed that the PBP antibody specifically reacted with the cell lysates of A. castellanii. However, the PBP antibody did not interact with human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells and the other 3 major causative agents of keratitis. Immunocytochemistry (ICC) results revealed the specific detection of A. castellanii trophozoites and cysts by PBP antibodies when A. castellanii were co-cultured with HCE cells. PBP antibody specificity was further confirmed by co-culture of A. castellanii trophozoites with F. solani, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa via ICC. The PBP antibody specifically reacted with the trophozoites and cysts of A. polyphaga, A. hatchetti, A. culbertsoni, A. royreba, and A. healyi, thus demonstrated its genus-specific nature. These results showed that the PBP polyclonal peptide antibody of A. castellanii could specifically detect several species of Acanthamoeba, contributing to the development of an effective antibody-based AK diagnostics.

• Laboratory Medicine Online
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.94-102
• /
• 2017

Malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis are common and notorious infectious diseases in Myanmar. Despite intensive efforts to control these diseases, their prevalence remains high. For malaria, which is a vector-borne disease, a remarkable success in the reduction of new cases has been achieved. However, the annual number of tuberculosis cases has increased over the last few decades, and the prevalence of chronic viral hepatitis infection has been high in Myanmar and other nearby countries. Early detection and prompt treatment are crucial to control these diseases. We have devoted our research efforts to understanding the status of these infectious diseases and working towards their eventual elimination for the last four years with the support of the Korea International Cooperation Agency. In the modern era, an infection that develops in one geographical area can spread globally because national borders do not effectively limit disease transmission. Our efforts to understand the status of infectious diseases in Myanmar will benefit not only Myanmar but also neighboring countries such as Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.299-304
• /
• 2004

To investigate the presence of infectious agents in human atherosclerotic arterial tissues. Atherosclerotic plaques were removed from 128 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy or other bypass proce­dures for occlusive disease, and from twenty normal arterial wall samples, obtained from transplant donors with no history of diabetes, hypertension, smoking, or hyperlipidemia. Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or reverse transcription-PCR, these samples were analyzed for the presence of Chlamydia pneumoniae, cytomegalovirus, enterovirus, adenovirus, herpes simplex viruses types 1 and 2, and Epstein-Barr virus. The amplicons were then sequenced, and phylogenetic analyses were per­formed. Enteroviral RNA was found in 22 of 128 atherosclerotic vascular lesions $(17.2\%),$ and C. pneu­moniae and cytomegalovirus were each found in 2 samples $(1.6\%).$ In contrast, adenovirus, herpes simplex viruses, and Epstein-Barr virus were not identified in any of the atherosclerotic samples. Enterovirus was detected in 6/24 $(25.0\%)$ aortas, 7/33 $(21.2\%)$ carotid arteries, 6/40 $(15.0\%)$ femoral arteries, and 3/31 $(9.7\%)$ radial arteries of patients with chronic renal failure. There were no infectious agents detected in any of the control specimens. Using phylogenetic analysis, the enterovirus isolates were clustered into 3 groups, arranged as echovirus 9 and coxsackieviruses Bl and B3. Enteroviral RNA was detected in $17.2\%$ of atherosclerotic plaques, but was not observed in any of the control spec­imens. This suggests a connection between enteroviral infection and atherosclerosis. These findings dif­fer from those of other studies, which found more frequent incidence of C. pneumoniae and cytomegalovirus infection in atherosclerotic plaques.