• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.107-112
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• 2020

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and avian influenza (AI) are highly pathogenic viral disease which affects the livestock industry worldwide. Outbreak of these viruses causes great impact in the livestock industry; thus, disease infected animals were immediately disposed. Burial is the commonly used disposal method for deceased animals. However, there is potential for secondary environmental contamination, as well as the risk that infectious agents persisting in the environment due to the limited environmental controls in livestock burial sites during the decomposition of the carcasses. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the detection of FMD and AI viruses from animal carcass disposal sites using real-time reverse transcription PCR. Soil samples of more than three years post-burial from livestock carcass disposal sites were collected and processed RNA isolation using a commercial extraction kit. The isolated RNA of the samples was used for the detection of FMDV and AIV using qRT-PCR. Based on the qPCR assay result, no viral particle was detected in the soil samples collected from the animal disposal sites. This indicates that 3 years of burial and their carcass disposal method is efficient for the control or at least reduction of spread infections in the surrounding environment.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.165-172
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• 2013

A noncommunicable disease (NCD) is a medical condition or disease that is by definition non-infectious and non-transmissible among people. Currently, NCDs are the leading causes of death and disease burden worldwide. The four main types of NCDs, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, result in more than 30 million deaths annually. To reduce the burden of NCDs on global health, current public health actions stress the importance of preventing, detecting, and correcting modifiable risk factors; controlling major modifiable risk factors has been shown to effectively reduce NCD mortality. The World Health Organization's World Health Report 2002 identified tobacco use, alcohol consumption, overweight, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol as the most important risk factors for NCDs. Accordingly, the present report set out to review the prevalence and trends of these modifiable risk factors in the Korean population. Over the past few decades, we observed significant risk factor modifications of improved blood pressure control and decreased smoking rate. However, hypertension and cigarette smoking remained the most contributable factors of NCDs in the Korean population. Moreover, other major modifiable risk factors show no improvement or even worsened. The current status and trends in major modifiable risk factors reinforce the importance of prevention, detection, and treatment of risk factors in reducing the burden of NCDs on individuals and society.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2014

Purpose: This study aimed at determining the detection rate of respiratory viruses and at investigating the risk factors associated with respiratory virus detection in young infants. Methods: From September 2011 to August 2012, nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained from 227 infants aged ${\leq}90$ days with suspected infectious diseases, including sepsis. We performed a retrospective analysis of their clinical characteristics. The prevalence of respiratory viruses in their nasopharyngeal swabs was assayed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). Results: In total, 157 (69.2%) infants had more than one of the following respiratory viruses: respiratory syncytial virus (n=75), rhinovirus (n=42), influenza virus (n=18), parainfluenza virus (n=15), human metapneumovirus (n=9), coronavirus (n=9), adenovirus (n=4), and bocavirus (n=3). During the same period, bacterial infections were confirmed in 24 infants (10.6%). The detection of respiratory viruses was significantly associated with the presence of cough, a family history of respiratory illness, and a seasonal preference (fall/winter). Using logistic regression analysis, these 3 variables were also identified as significant risk factors. During fall and winter, detection of respiratory viruses was significantly higher in infants who did not have a bacterial infection. Conclusion: Respiratory virus is an important pathogen in young infants admitted to a hospital, who are suspected with infectious diseases. Detection of respiratory viruses in young infants was associated with seasonality (fall/winter), presence of respiratory symptoms and a family history of respiratory illness.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.227-233
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• 2009

Local malaria transmission in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came to an end in 1997. Nevertheless, UAE has been subjected to substantial importation of malaria cases from abroad, concerning both UAE nationals and immigrants from malarious countries with a total number of 2,119 cases in 2007. To evaluate a new DNA extraction technique using nested PCR, blood samples were collected from 132 individuals who presented to Infectious Diseases Department in Rashid Hospital, Dubai, and Central Department of Malaria Control with fever and persistent headache. Giemsa-stained blood films and ELISA test for malaria antibodies were carried out for detection of Plasmodium infection. Plasmodium infections were identified with the genus-specific primer set and species differentiation using nested PCR. A rapid procedure for diagnosis of malaria infections directly from dried blood spots using for the first time DNA extract from FTA Elute cards was evaluated in contrast to extraction techniques using FTA classic cards and rapid boiling technique. Our new simple technique for DNA extraction using FTA Elute cards was very sensitive giving a sensitivity of 100% compared to 94% using FTA classic cards and 62% in the rapid boiling technique. No complex preparation of blood samples was required prior to the amplification. The production cost of DNA isolation in our PCR assay was much less incomparable to that of other DNA extraction protocols. The nested PCR detected plasmodial infection and could differentiate P. falciparum from P. vivax, and also detected the mixed infection.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.247-257
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• 2020

Livestock epidemics, such as foot and mouth disease, are causing enormous economic losses due to their strong infectious power. Early detection of infectious diseases in livestock is very important, but it is difficult to diagnose early in individual farms, and there are frequent cases of transmission through inter-farm movement such as veterinarians and feeding vehicles. In this study, we studied the technology that enables rapid diagnosis without veterinarian farm visits and prevents further spread by automatically monitoring the body temperature of livestock using ubiquitous-based information and communication technology in the early stage of onset and sending it in real time. We have presented a technique for systematically managing livestock epidemics at the farm level, regional level, and national level by using the community mapping technique by using the remote medical treatment system linked to the automatically collected information. In this process, community mapping items for each step and stakeholders were derived for crowd sourcing based spatial information technology.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.67-77
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• 2020

Canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD), also known as infectious tracheobronchitis or kennel cough occurs in a multiple-dog environment such as a shelter. In this study, we were collected 300 of nasal swab samples from dogs and 145 of environmental samples from a shelter to investigate respiratory pathogens of dogs in the Gwangju metropolitan city animal shelter from February to October, 2019. Bacteria cultures for isolation of Bordetella (B.) bronchiseptica and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were performed for detection of eleven canine respiratory pathogens, namely Mycoplasma (M.) cynos, canine distemper virus (CDV), canine influenza virus (CIV), canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV), canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV), alpha-coronavirus (CCoV), canine pneumovirus (CnPnV), canine hepacivirus (CHeV), canine adenovirus type 2 (CAdV-2), canine herpesvirus-1 (CHV-1) and canine bocavirus (CBoV). Among 300 nasal swab samples, 148 samples (49.3%) were positive for at least one pathogens. CHV-1 was the most common pathogen, found in 95/300 (31.7%) samples. Subsequently, M. cynos (22.0%), B. bronchiseptica (2.3%), CPIV (2.0%), CBoV (1.7%), CCoV (0.7%) were detected. The detection rates of M. cynos and CHV-1 according to the duration of stay in the shelter were statistically significant. Among environmental samples, M. cynos, CCoV, CBoV and CHV-1 were detected in 45/145 (31.0%). These results indicated the need for disease control and prevention systems in the shelter.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.287-289
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate the detection of various vector-borne pathogens in such cats. A total of 48 stray cats collected in Daejeon were included in this study. The total positive rate of hemotropic mycoplasmas and Babesia spp. was 25% and 4%, respectively. It is recommended that species-level classification of hemotropic mycoplasmas and Babesia spp. is needed and that a large-scale prevalence study of infectious agents in all the regions of South Korea be conducted.

• Journal of Korea Association of Health Promotion
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2003

The current status and future prospects of parasitic infections in Korea is briefly reviewed. Soil-transmitted helminth infections including ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm infections decreased remarkably. owing to the national control activities excuted by the Korea Association of Health Promotion(formerly Korea Association of parasite Eradication) using mass heath education. Important recent trends include reemergence of vivax malaria since 1993, persistence of food-borne trematode infections including clonorchiasis and intestinal trematode infections, increased detection of zoonotic parasitosis, close-up of infection with opportunistic parasites including cryptosporidiosis, toxoplasmosis, and pneumosytosis, increase of imported tropical infectious disease, appearance of new parasitic disease such as gymnophalloidiasis, and increase of accidental infections with free-living amoebae. These trends represent greatly changed overall patterns of parasitic infections in Korea.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2021

The consumption of fresh-cut agricultural materials is increasing due to increased public interest in health and the increase of single-person households. Most fresh-cut agricultural materials can be eaten without heating, thus easily exposing the consumer to food-borne pathogens. As a result, food-borne diseases are increasing worldwide. In the analysis of food-borne pathogens, it is important to detect the strains, but this is time consuming and laborious. Alternative detection methods that have been introduced, include polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), which is performed without prior culturing. Samples of fresh-cut agricultural materials, such as vegetables, were analyzed by the culture-based method. In 129 samples, non-pathogenic Escherichia coli (3.9%), Bacillus cereus (31.8%), Clostridium perfringens (5.4%), Yersinia enterocolitica (0.8%), and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (0.8%) were detected. Eight samples contaminated with bacteria were randomly selected, further analyzed by PCR-DGGE, and compared with the culture-based method. Two cases detected non-pathogenic E. coli by PCR-DGGE only, despite a lack of detection by the culture method. It was supposed there was possibility of sample loss during its 10-fold dilution for appropriate cultivation. In the detection of high-risk food-borne pathogens, it was found that the detection limit was lower in PCR-DGGE than in the culture-based method (10 CFU/g). This suggests that PCR-DGGE can be alternatively used to detect strains. On the other hand, low-risk food-borne pathogens seem to have higher detection limits in PCR-DGGE. Consequentially, this study contributes to the improvement of food-borne pathogen detection and the prevention of its related-diseases in fresh-cut agricultural materials.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.275-283
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• 2020

Background: In the absence of a vaccine or treatment, the most pragmatic strategies against an infectious disease pandemic are extensive early detection testing and social distancing. This study aimed to summarize public and workplace responses to Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) and show how the Korean system has operated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Daily briefings from the Korean Center for Disease Control and the Central Disaster Management Headquarters were assembled from January 20 to May 15, 2020. Results: By May 15, 2020, 11,018 COVID-19 cases were identified, of which 15.7% occurred in workplaces such as health-care facilities, call centers, sports clubs, coin karaoke, and nightlife destinations. When the first confirmed case was diagnosed, the Korean Center for Disease Control and Central Disaster Management Headquarters responded quickly, emphasizing early detection with numerous tests and a social distancing policy. This slowed the spread of infection without intensive containment, shut down, or mitigation interventions. After entering the public health blue alert level, a business continuity plan was distributed. After entering the orange level, the Ministry of Employment and Labor developed workplace guidelines for COVID-19 consisting of social distancing, flexible working schedules, early identification of workers with suspected infections, and disinfection of workplaces. Owing to the intensive workplace social distancing policy, workplaces remained safe with only small sporadic group infections. Conclusion: The workplace social distancing policy with timely implementation of specific guidelines was a key to preventing a large outbreak of COVID-19 in Korean workplaces. However, sporadic incidents of COVID-19 are still ongoing, and risk assessment in vulnerable workplaces should be continued.