• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.161-165
• /
• 2010

Echinococcus granulosus, an intestinal tapeworm of dogs and other canids, infects humans in its larval stage and causes human echinococcosis or hydatid disease. In the Republic of Korea, 31 parasite-proven human echinococcosis cases have been reported, most of which were imported from the Middle East. We recently examined a 61-year-old Korean man who had a large cystic mass in his liver. ELISA was negative for tissue parasitic infections, including echinococcosis, cysticercosis, paragonimiasis, and sparganosis. The patient underwent surgery to remove the cyst, and the resected cyst was processed histopathologically for microscopic examinations. In sectioned cyst tissue, necrotizing protoscolices with disintegrated hooklets of E. granulosus were found. In some areas, only freed, fragmented hooklets were detected. The patient had traveled to western and central Europe in 1996, and had no other history of overseas travel. We report our patient as a hepatic echinococcosis case which was probably imported from Europe.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.52 no.5
• /
• pp.527-529
• /
• 2014

This study reports the first case of Capillaria hepatica infection in a nutria in Korea. Ten nutrias, captured near the Nakdong River, were submitted to our laboratory for necropsy. White-yellowish nodules were found in the liver of 1 of the nutrias at necropsy. Histologically, the lesions were granulomatous, and infiltrations of lipid-laden macrophages, eosinophils, and several multinucleated giant cells were observed. The lesions consisted of numerous eggs and necrotic hepatocytes. The eggs were lemon-shaped and had polar plugs at the ends of both long sides. The eggs were morphologically identified as those of C. hepatica. Worldwide, C. hepatica infection in nutrias is very rare. Nutrias are a kind of livestock, as well as wildlife; therefore, an epidemiological study for parasitic infections needs to be conducted.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.15-22
• /
• 2005

Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted disease induced by Trichomonas vaginalis, a parasitic protozoan. The symptoms of trichomoniasis are rarely appeared that the infections are distributed worldwide from underdeveloped to developed countries. The diagnosis of trichomoniasis is mainly taken by wet smear following microscopic examination, of which the diagnostic accuracies are poor and varies with the clinicians' experiences. Therefore, more exact and convenient diagnostic methods for T. vaginalis are required. Here, we cloned and expressed recombinant T. vaginalis adhesion protein 33 (rTvAP33) using an E. coli expression system. rTvAP33 was then immunized to rabbit and BALB/c mice for the production of anti-rTvAP33 antibodies. Sandwich ELISA using these antibodies detected T. vaginalis cultured in TYM broth supplemented with ferrous ions. Vagina-parasitizing microorganisms showed low cross-reactivities in this system. These results suggest that Tv AP33 is a good diagnostic target for the detection of TvAP33-expressing T. vaginalis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.95-99
• /
• 2008

Eosinophil degranulation plays a crucial role in tissue inflammatory reactions associated with helminth parasitic infections and allergic diseases. Paragonimus westermani, a lung fluke causing human paragonimiasis, secretes a large amount of cysteine proteases, which are involved in nutrient uptake, tissue invasion, and modulation of hos's immune responses. There is, however, limited information about the response of eosinophils to direct stimulation by cysteine proteases (CP) secreted by P. westermani. In the present study, we tested whether degranulation and superoxide production from human eosinophils can be induced by stimulation of the 2 CP (27 kDa and 28 kDa) purified from excretory-secretory products (ESP) of P. westermani newly excysted metacercariae (PwNEM). A large quantity of eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) was detected in the culture supernatant when human eosinophils isolated from the peripheral blood were incubated with the purified 27 kDa CP. Furthermore, the 27 kDa CP induced superoxide anion production by eosinophils in time- and dose-dependent manners. In contrast, the purified 28 kDa CP did not induce superoxide production and degranulation. These findings suggest that the 27 kDa CP secreted by PwNEM induces superoxide production and degranulation of human eosinophils, which may be involved in eosinophil-mediated tissue inflammatory responses during the larval migration in human paragonimiasis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.56 no.2
• /
• pp.189-194
• /
• 2018

To determine that Paragonimus sp. is actively transmitted in a tropical area of the Pacific region of Ecuador where human cases of pulmonary paragonimiasis have recently been documented, a total of 75 freshwater crabs were collected from 2 different streams in the Pedernales area of $Manab\acute{i}$ Province, Ecuador. All collected crabs were identified as Hypolobocera guayaquilensis based on morphological characteristics of the male gonopods. The hepatopancreas of each crab was examined by compressing it between 2 glass plates followed by observation under a stereomicroscope. Excysted Paragonimus metacercariae were detected in 39 (52.0%) crabs and their densities varied from 1 to 32 per infected crab. There was a positive relationship between crab size and metacercarial density. Sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer region of the ribosomal RNA gene of the Paragonimus metacercariae obtained in this study were identical to those of Paragonimus mexicanus deposited in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank database. Thus, the present study is the first to confirm that the crab species H. guayaquilensis is the second intermediate host of P. mexicanus in $Manab\acute{i}$ Province, Ecuador. Because this crab might be the possible source of human infections in this area, residents should pay attention to improper crab-eating habits related with a neglected parasitic disease, i.e., paragonimiasis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.59-62
• /
• 1992

An imported case of rectal hookworm infection was diagnosed by stool examination and recovery of adult worms from the rectal mucosa by sigmoidoscopy. The chief complaints of a patient were diarrhea, abdominal pain and weight loss for about 1 month after returning from his travel abroad to the Southeast Asia. Leukocytosis ($16, 750/{\mu}\ell$) and peripheral eosinophilia (33.7%) were noticed without anemia. Typical hookworm eggs were detected by stool examination, and 3 worms were collected by sigmoidoscopy from rectal mucosa of this patient. Those worms were confirmed as adult worms of Ancylostoma duodenale(♂:1, ♀: 2) based on their morphological characteristics. The symptoms were relieved after treatment with anthelmintics. This case was considered as one of the imported parasitic infections in Korea, and a rare case of hookworm infection on human rectal mucosa.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.233-238
• /
• 2012

The precise diagnosis of the acute toxoplasmosis in pregnant women and immunocompromsied patients has critical importance. Most of the commercially available assays use the whole Toxoplasma soluble extract as the antigen. However, the assays currently available for the detection of specific anti-Toxoplasma antibodies may vary in their abilities to detect serum immunoglobulins, due to the lack of a purified standardized antigen. The aim of this study was production and evaluation of the usefulness of the recombinant Toxoplasma gondii GRA7 antigen for the serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii IgM and IgG by ELISA. A total of 70 T. gondii IgM positive sera, 74 T. gondii IgG positive sera, and 60 sera from subjects who were not infected with T. gondii were examined. These sera were shown different absorbance values in ELISA test. To control the specificity of the rGRA7 other parasitic diseases, for example, echinococcosis, malaria, leishmaniasis, fascioliasis, and strongyloidiasis were tested of which none showed positive results. Sensitivity and specificity of the generated recombinant IgG ELISA in comparison with commercial ELISA (com ELISA) were 89% and 90%, and the sensitivity and specificity of the generated recombinant IgM ELISA were 96% and 90%, respectively. The results obtained here show that this antigen is useful for diagnostic purposes.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.107-119
• /
• 1984

At the preliminary survey of Seosan demonstration project for integration of family planning and maternal and child health service, 6 questions about morbid conditions of all household members were included. Definition of morbid condition used at the survey was self-conceived physical or mental infirmity which had been caused by diseases or accidents, resulting in obstacles to ordinary daily life for past 30 days. Analyzing those morbidity data, the following results were obtained. 1. The morbid person rate was 192.2 per 1,000 persons and the morbidity rate 214.2 per 1,000 persons. 2. The percentage of household which had at least one morbid person was 61.9% and average number of morbidity per one household was 1.1. 3. Analyzing the 1st morbid condition of the total 4,433 morbid persons, morbidity rate of male was 194.6 per 1,000 persons and that of female was 189.8 per 1,000 persons. 4. The highest age specific morbidity rate was that of $0{\sim}4$ years of age, and it was 304.3 per 1,000 persons. The lowest was that of $10{\sim}14$ years of age and the rate of 93.8 per 1,000 persons. 5. The following was the order of five major diseases which were classified according to 17 International Classification of Diseases. (1) Symptoms and Ill defined conditions : 17.3% (2) Disease of the Digestive system : 15.7% (3) Infections and Parasitic disease 14.3% (4) Disease of the Respiratory system : 13.7% (5) Disease of the Nervous system and sense organs : 9.4% 6. 30 leading morbid conditions were described in Table III-2 and which composed 70.6% of total morbid conditions. 7. The percentage of the morbid conditions of which duration was longer than 90 days was 40.5%. 8. Of the total 4,433 morbid persons, 4,394 morbid persons responded for the morbid condition management method. Of those, Hospital & clinic (35.3%), drug store (40.0%), herb drug store (3.6%), health center (2.2%) ware selected for the 1st place or method for management morbid condition, and 18.0% did not search for morbid condition management.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.235-241
• /
• 2008

Taeniasis has been known as one of the prevalent parasitic infections in Korea. Until recently, Taenia saginata had long been considered a dominant, and widely distributed species but epidemiological profiles of human Taenia species in Korea still remain unclear. In order to better understand distribution patterns of human Taenia tapeworms in Korea, partial nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial cox1 and ITS2 (internal transcribed spacer 2) were determined, along with morphological examinations, on 68 Taenia specimens obtained from university museum collections deposited since 1935. Genomic DNA was extracted from formalin-preserved specimens. Phylogenetic relationships among the genotypes (cox1 haplotype) detected in this study were inferred using the neighbor-joining method as a tree building method. Morphological and genetic analyses identified 3 specimens as T. solium, 51 specimens as T. asiatica, and 14 specimens as T. saginata. Our results indicate that all 3 Taenia tapeworms are sympatrically distributed in Korea with T. asiatica dominating over T. saginata and T. solium.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.3
• /
• pp.31-40
• /
• 1993

The objective of this study was examine sick leave rates of hospital employees. The sick leave data of 2,123 employees in three(3) general hospitals located in Seoul during the period from January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1992 was analyzed to achieve the study objective. The sick leave rates were computed in compliance with the standards recommended by the International Association on Occupational Health. Univariate analysis methods($X^2$-test and ANOVA) were used to assess the sourse of variance in the rates. The results were as follows : 1. The total annual rates of sick leave were 4.8% in frequency(persons), 0.23% in lost time, 0.68 days in duration and 14.0 days in severity. 2. The sick leave rates of frequency(person). duration and lost time were significantly higher in female than male, in groups of 40-49 years than in the other age group, the married than the unmarried and in the long employment of 8 years or above than the short employment. But there was no significant difference in the rate of severity. Only the sick leave rate of frequency(person) was significantly related to the educatial status, but there was no significant difference in other analytical factors of sick leave rate. 3. The main causes of sick leave were injury and poisoning(24.3%), and disease of the digestive system, disease of the nervous system and sense organs, and complications of pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium(respectively 11.6%). The severity rate was the highest in neoplasms(32.2 days), and followed by endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disease and immunity disorders, injury and poisoning, and infections and parasitic disease in descending order. 4. The sick leave rates of frequency(person), duration and lost time were the highest in nutritional workers followed by registered nurses. However, severity rate was the highest in doctors and pharmacists and followed by in nutritional works. 5. The main cause of sick leave was complication of pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium in registered nurses(26.3%), injury and poisoning in nutritional workers(78.6%) and disease of respiratory system and digestive system in other workers.