• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2022

In the event of an outbreak of a livestock epidemic, it has been considered that the existing burial-centered carcass disposal method should be improved ecofriendly for prevention of leachate and odors from burial basically in regard of pathogen inactivation. Therefore, the aim of this study is whether it was possible to treat the carcass of cattle and chickens using the chemical carcass treatment method. It was conducted to establish detailed treatment standards for the chemical treatment method of cattle and chicken carcasses based on the results of the proof of the absence of infectious diseases in cattle chickens. After inoculating cattle carcass with 10 pathogens (foot and mouth disease virus, bovine viral diarrhea virus, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis, Brucella abortus, Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium chauvoei, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella Typhimurium) and chicken carcasses with low pathogenic avian influenza virus, Clostridium perfringens type C, E. coli and Salmonella Typhimurium, these were treated at 90℃ for 5 hours in a potassium hydroxide liquid solution corresponding to 15% of the body weight. This method liquefies all cadaveric components and inactivates all inoculated pathogens by PCR and culture. Based on these results, it was possible to prove that chemical treatment of cattle and chicken carcasses is effective in killing pathogens and is a safe method without the risk of disease transmission. The chemical treatment method of livestock carcasses can be suggested as an alternative to the current domestic burial-centered livestock carcass treatment method, preventing environmental pollution, and contributing to public health.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.117-124
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• 2014

Purpose: Administration of antiretroviral drugs to mothers and infants significantly decreases mother-to-child human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission; cesarean sections and discouraging breastfeeding further decreases this risk. The present study confirmed the HIV status of babies born to mothers infected with HIV and describes the characteristics of babies and mothers who received preventive treatment. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed medical records of nine infants and their mothers positive for HIV who gave birth at Korea University Ansan Hospital, between June 1, 2003, and May 31, 2013. Maternal parameters, including HIV diagnosis date, CD4+ count, and HIV ribonucleic acid (RNA) copy number, were analyzed. Infant growth and development, HIV RNA copy number, and HIV antigen/antibody test results were analyzed. Results: Eight HIV-positive mothers delivered nine babies; all the infants received antiretroviral therapy. Three (37.5%) and five mothers (62.5%) were administered single- and multidrug therapy, respectively. Intravenous zidovudine was administered to four infants (50%) at birth. Breastfeeding was discouraged for all the infants. All the infants were negative for HIV, although two were lost to follow-up. Third trimester maternal viral copy numbers were less than 1,000 copies/mL with a median CD4+ count of $325{\mu}L$ ($92-729{\mu}L$). Among the nine infants, two were preterm (22.2%) and three had low birth weights (33.3%). Conclusion: This study concludes that prophylactic antiretroviral therapy, scheduled cesarean section, and prohibition of breastfeeding considerably decrease mother-to-child HIV transmission. Because the number of infants infected via mother-to-child transmission may be increasing, studies in additional regions using more variables are necessary.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.487-500
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• 2014

A new method to calculate the transmittable prevalence of an epidemic disease is proposed based on a back-calculation formula. We calculated the probabilities of reactivation and of parasitemia as well as transmittable prevalence (the number of persons with parasitemia in the incubation period) of malaria in South Korea using incidence of 12 years(2001-2012). For this computation, a new probability function of transmittable condition is obtained. The probability of reactivation is estimated by the least squares method for the back-calculated longterm incubation period. The probability of parasitemia is calculated by a convolution of the survival function of the short-term incubation function and the probability of reactivation. Transmittable prevalence is computed by a convolution of the infected numbers and the probabilities of transmission. Confidence intervals are calculated using the parametric bootstrap method. The method proposed is applicable to other epidemic diseases in other countries where incidence and a long incubation period are available. We found the estimated transmittable prevalence in South Korea was concentrated in the summer with 276 cases on a peak at the $31^{st}$ week and with about a 60% reduction in the peak from the naive prevalence. The statistics of transmittable prevalence can be used for malaria prevention programs and to select blood transfusion donors.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.143-146
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• 1998

Syphilis is a systemic communicable disease caused by the motile spirochete, Treponema pallidum, which is only a natural pathogen for human. The distribution and trends of syphilis are influenced by biologic factors, sexual behaviors, biomedical technology, availability of and access to health care, public health efforts, changes in population dynamics, and sociocultural factors. Although sexual contact is the main route of transmission, Treponema pallidum may also be infected through direct contact with syphilitic lesions, blood transfusion, ingestion of menstrual blood or vaginal secretions, or transplacental transmissions. In extremely unusual circumstances, infection by means of contact with a skin lesion and human bite have been reported. We experienced a case of syphilis which is thought to be infected by the abnormal imposition of hands on a child, which caused unnecessary erosive trauma with fingernails.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.283-291
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• 2023

Brucellosis and tuberculosis are major infectious and contagious bacterial diseases in cattle. These diseases are malicious diseases that must be inspected at the slaughterhouse of cattle in accordance with the practice of quarantine in Korea. Furthermore, both diseases lead to abortion, reproductive disorder, and calf disease, causing major difficulty in the breeding of Korean Native cattle (Hanwoo), a representative industrial animal currently being raised in Korea. Co-infections of these diseases intensify clinical symptoms such as abortion and have a particularly significant effect on increasing mortality. Thus, serological tests were performed in Hanwoo, to establish the association of co-infection between brucellosis and tuberculosis in cattle. ELISA and PCR tests were conducted on blood samples collected from a total of 102 cattle in Jeonnam province, Korea, to detect brucellosis and tuberculosis infections. The PCR results revealed that 41 samples tested positive for Brucella abortus (B. abortus) infection (40.20%), and 5 samples tested positive for Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) (4.90%) infection confirmed by PCR. Notably, 9.76% (4/41) of the cattle infected with brucellosis also tested positive for tuberculosis. In conclusion, this study highlights the co-infection of brucellosis and tuberculosis among Hanwoo cattle in Jeonnam province, which is expected to contribute to our understanding of disease transmission, pathogenicity, the establishment of future prevention strategies.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.209-226
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• 2018

Purpose: This purpose of this study was to develop evidence-based practice guideline for isolation in health care settings to prevent transmission of infectious diseases utilizing guideline adaption process. Methods: The process of guideline adaptation was performed according to the Korean hospital nurses association's guideline adaptation manual which consisted of three main phases, 9 modules, and 24 steps. Results: The adapted isolation guideline consisted of introduction, overview of isolation guideline, summary of recommendations, recommendations, references, and appendices. The guideline includes 224 recommendations in 4 sections which are organizational administration, standard precautions, transmission-based precautions, and education/counselling. Conclusion: The adapted isolation guideline is recommended to be disseminated and utilized by nurses and clinicians nationwide to improve the isolation practices for infected or colonized patients with communicable diseases and to decrease the transmission of infections in the healthcare settings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6115-6119
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• 2012

Introduction: Increasing prevalence of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and its association with cervical cancer as a leading cause of death make it necessary to evaluate and improve the public knowledge, especially of university students, about this cause of disease. Methods: A cross-sectional study of knowledge and attitude of a total 669 students from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences was therefore performed with a modified validated questionnaire, arranged into 5 parts and containing 55 questions, in July 2011. Questions were directed to study socio-demographic characteristics of the participant, knowledge about HPV disease, transmission route, relationship with cervical cancer, predisposing factors, and participants attitude toward people with HPV infection. Results: All of the participants were Moslem with a mean age $25.6{\pm}5.33$ years of age. All of the participants had heard of HPV, and acquired their knowledge through university courses (90.6%); the majority of them knew that HPV is a sexually transmitted disease and a potential cause for genital warts but general knowledge about details was not high. Mean knowledge score of residents and post graduate midwifery and nursing students was high as compared to other groups (P<0.001). Statements that indicated the presence of fear to communicate with people suffering HPV and people's avoidance to rely on babysitting of these patients were observed. Educational level (${\beta}$=0.21, P<0.001), age (${\beta}$=0.18, P=0.002,) and smoking (${\beta}$=-0.11, P=0.006) were predicted to effect knowledge. Conclusions: Moderate level of knowledge about HPV among medical university students makes it necessary to set effective national public health efforts on HPV education and prevention considering he excess of young population in Iran vulnerable to cervical cancer.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.137-147
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• 2013

Most of livestock houses are concentrated in certain area with mass rearing system resulting in rapid spread of infectious diseases such as HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza). The livestock-related vehicles which frequently travel between farms could be a major factor for disease spread by means of transmission of airborne aerosol including pathogens. This study was focused on the quantitative measurement of aerosol concentration by field experiment while vehicles were passing through the road. The TSP (total suspended particle) and PM10 (particle matter) were measured using air sampler with teflon filter installed downward the road with consideration of weather forecast and the direction of road. And aerosol spectrometer and video recorders were also used to measure the real-time distribution of aerosol concentration by its size. The results showed that PM2.5 was not considerable for transmission of airborne aerosol from the livestock-related vehicle. The mass generated from the road during the vehicle movement was measured and calculated to 241.4 ${\mu}g/m^3$ by means of the difference between TSP and PM2.5. The dispersion distance was predicted by 79.6 m from the trend curve.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.531-543
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• 2018

Historically, Plasmodium vivax malaria has been one of the most highly endemic parasitic diseases in the Korean Peninsula. Until the 1970s, vivax malaria was rarely directly lethal and was controlled through the Korean Government Program administered by the National Malaria Eradication Service in association with the World Health Organization's Global Malaria Eradication Program. Vivax malaria has re-emerged in 1993 near the Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea and has since become an endemic infectious disease that now poses a serious public health threat through local transmission in the Republic of Korea. This review presents major lessons learned from past and current malaria research, including epidemiological and biological characteristics of the re-emergent disease, and considers some interesting patterns of diversity. Among other features, this review highlights temporal changes in the genetic makeup of the parasitic population, patient demographic features, and spatial distribution of cases, which all provide insight into the factors contributing to local transmission. The data indicate that vivax malaria in Korea is not expanding exponentially. However, continued surveillance is needed to prevent future resurgence.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.241-248
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• 2015

This study was aimed to investigate factors that affected the status of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) for handling poultry carcasses with potential exposure to virulent avian infectious agents. A large outbreak of high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) occurred in South Korea in 2014. Many public officers participated for euthanizing and handling livestock carcass. However, several safety issues with using PPE were revealed. Therefore, a questionnaire survey was conducted for 340 people who participated euthanasia and carcass disposal in the place where HPAI mainly occurred in 2014. It was found that 31.8% of the respondents had ever taken off their protective equipment during operations because of its inconvenience. The most inconvenient PPE was goggles (54.6%), followed by mask (20.2%), latex gloves (11.6%), shoe covers (5.9%) and protective clothing (5.3%). The main complaints about this individual PPE was unclear sight, damp emitted toward eye, sweating, tearing easily and sweating, respectively. Considering such problems of PPE, new possible directions for improvement of gloves and goggles were suggested. With newly developed rubber coating fabric gloves and conventionally using latex and fabric gloves, H3N2 influenza virus transmission experiment was conducted. Rubber coating fabric gloves showed similar efficiency for blocking virus transmission with latex laboratory gloves and were not easily torn by sharp claws of chicken. In addition, air flow control safety eyewear was suggested to minimize moisture formation. The air flow control system efficiently suppressed moisture formation inside the goggles. Therefore our study will provide more specific directions about new PPE development for safety protection of actual wearers.