• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• 제15권1호
• /
• pp.38-43
• /
• 2012

Purpose: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) hepatitis is a usually asymptomatic and self-limiting disease in immunocompetent patients. However, the range of severity is wide, and the serological diagnosis is typically difficult until the convalescent phase. Thus, we examined the value of plasma EBV DNA real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in EBV hepatitis for the timely diagnosis and the relationship between EBV viral load and clinical severity. Methods: Sixty samples were confirmed as having EBV infection by RT-qPCR with the EBV BALF5 gene sequence. We examined the clinical characteristics of EBV hepatitis by reviewing medical records. Results: The median total duration of fever was 8 days (range: 0-13 days). The mean peak value of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was $241{\pm}214$ U/L, and the mean peak value of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was $298{\pm}312$ U/L. There was no correlation between the serum levels of liver enzyme and plasma EBV DNA titer ($p$=0.1) or between median total duration of fever and EBV DNA titer ($p$=0.056). The median age of the EBV VCA IgM-negative group was lower compared with the EBV VCA IgM-positive group in EBV hepatitis (2 years vs. 6 years, $p$=0.0009). Conclusion: The severity of EBV hepatitis does not correlate with circulating EBV DNA load according to our data. Furthermore, we suggest that plasma EBV PCR may be valuable in young infants in whom the results of serology test for EBV infection commonly are negative.

• 한국동물위생학회지
• /
• 제43권4호
• /
• pp.211-216
• /
• 2020

Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of Q fever which is a zoonosis occuring in both humans and animals worldwide. The purpose of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of C. burnetii in Korean native goat in Gyeongnam province, Korea. A total of 1,365 goat blood samples from 273 farms in Gyeongnam province were collected between 2018 and 2019. Among them, 177 (13.0%) samples out of 71 (26.0%) farms were seropositive for C. burnetii by ELISA. Seroprevalence were 15.4% and 10.9% in 2018 and 2019, respectively. According to the region, seroprevalence in western, central, eastern, northern and southern areas of Gyeongnam province were 16.6%, 17.8%, 8.0%, 11.6% and 10.8%, respectively. Seroprevalence was increased with breeding scale (Head<10:7.0%, 10≤Head<50:8.7%, 50≤Head<100:13.6%, 100≤Head:28.8%). Seroprevalence according to the season showed highest in summer (18.9%) and lowest in winter (9.4%). These results indicated that C. burnetii infection is widespread among Korean native goats of Gyeongnam province in Korea and further study needs to prevent the circulation of other livestock with Korean native goat.

• 한국동물위생학회지
• /
• 제44권1호
• /
• pp.27-33
• /
• 2021

Q fever is a worldwide zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. Domestic ruminants are considered to be major source of human infection. The aim of this survey was to investigate seroprevalence of C. burnetii in ruminants in Gwangju area. A total of 1,000 samples (serum and lactoserum) were collected from 987 Korean native cattle, 5 Korean native goats, 2 beef cattle, 6 bulk-tank milk from each dairy farm in Gwangju area from January to October 2020 and analyzed by ELISA. The seroprevalence of C. burnetii in bulk-tank milk from each dairy farms was 50.0%. Korean black goat and beef cattle had negative antibody test results for C. burnetii. The seroprevalence of C. burnetii in Korean native cattle in Gwangju area was 7.1% and was higher in female (7.8%) than in male (3.4%) (P=0.024). The seroprevalence of C. burnetii in Korean native cattle appeared to increase with age (3.8% in 1 year-old, 7.1% in 3 year-old, and 10.7% in more than 5 year-old) (P<0.001). The seroprevalence of C. burnetii of Korean native cattle increased in spring and May was the highest in particular (P<0.001). As the distribution and density of tick-habitat are expected to increase due to climate crisis, this survey highlights the need for monitoring C. burnetii in domestic ruminants, including surveillance of C. burnetii infection in people working for livestock industry.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제59권3호
• /
• pp.281-289
• /
• 2021

This study aimed to characterize the seasonal abundance of hard ticks that transmit severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus from April to November 2019 and 2020 on Ganghwa-do, Incheon Metropolitan City, Korea. The ticks were collected at grassland, grave site, copse and mountain road using a collection trap method. The ixodid hard ticks comprising three species (Haemaphysalis longicornis, H. flava, and Ixodes nipponensis) collected were 6,622 in 2019 and 3,811 in 2020. H. longicornis was the most frequent (97.9% in 2019 and 96.0% in 2020), followed by H. flava (2.0% and 3.0% in 2019 and 2020, respectively) and I. nipponensis (less than 0.1%). Our study demonstrated that seasonal patterns of the tick populations examined for two years were totally unsimilar. The hard ticks tested using RT-qPCR were all negative for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus.

• 한국임상수의학회지
• /
• 제32권6호
• /
• pp.504-507
• /
• 2015

Coxiella burnetii는 세포 내 기생하는 리케치아의 한 종류로 전세계에서 발병하는 인수공통 전염병인 큐열의 원인체이다. 국내에서 C. burnetii의 감염이 사람과 동물에서 보고되고 있지만 제한적인 지역에서만 실시되었다. 본 연구의 목적은 real-time PCR을 이용하여 소의 혈액과 유즙 시료에서 C. burnetii의 전국적인 검출률을 조사하는 것이다. 총 1,325 개 시료(한우 혈액 622 개, 젖소 혈액 185 개, 젖소 개체 유즙 170 개 및 젖소 집합유 348 개)를 전국적으로 채취하였다. 채취한 시료에서 Genomic DNA를 추출하였으며 C. burnetii 검출을 위한 real-time PCR을 실시하였다. 한우 혈액 622 개 중 17(2.7%) 개에서 C. burnetii가 검출되었고 젖소 혈액 185 개 중 2 (1.1%) 개에서 C. burnetii가 검출되었다. 젖소의 개체별 유즙 170 개 중 27(15.9%) 개에서 C. burnetii가 검출되었으며 집합유 348 개 중 84(24.1%) 개에서 C. burnetii가 검출되었다. 본 연구는 국내의 소가 C. burnetii에 높게 감염되어 있는 것을 확인하였으며, 인수공통질병인 큐열에 의한 가축과 사람의 피해를 예방하기 위하여, 가축과 사람의 큐열에 대한 추가적인 역학적 연구가 필요하다고 생각된다.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• 제24권3호
• /
• pp.429-438
• /
• 2011

Mastitis is characterized by physical, chemical and bacteriological changes in the milk and pathological changes in the glandular tissue of the udder and affects the quality and quantity of milk. The bacterial contamination of milk from the affected cows render it unfit for human consumption and provides a mechanism of spread of diseases like tuberculosis, sore-throat, Q-fever, brucellosis, leptospirosis etc. and has zoonotic importance. Somatic cell count (SCC) is a useful predictor of intramammary infection (IMI) that includes leucocytes (75%) i.e. neutrophils, macrophages, lymphocytes, erythrocytes and epithelial cells (25%). Leucocytes increase in response to bacterial infection, tissue injury and stress. Somatic cells are protective for the animal body and fight infectious organisms. An elevated SCC in milk has a negative influence on the quality of raw milk. Subclinical mastitis is always related to low milk production, changes to milk consistency (density), reduced possibility of adequate milk processing, low protein and high risk for milk hygiene since it may even contain pathogenic organisms. This review collects and collates relevant publications on the subject.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• 제22권3호
• /
• pp.298-302
• /
• 2019

A previously healthy 2.5-year-old male child presented with vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. During hospitalization he developed odynophagia and refusal to eat. His symptoms did not respond to acid suppressant therapy. He underwent upper endoscopy which showed severe inflammation, ulcerations and abundant necrosis. Histopathological features and serological testing were consistent with herpetic esophagitis. He had no history of recurrent infections or history of sick contacts. His immunological work up showed normal level of immunoglobulins and his White Blood Cells subpopulations were normal. His HSV serology was positive. The patient was started on acyclovir 5 mg/kg q 8 hours. He resolved his symptoms within 24 hours of treatment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제31권12호
• /
• pp.1716-1721
• /
• 2021

Chikungunya fever is an arboviral disease caused by the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The disease has similar clinical manifestations with other acute febrile illnesses which complicates differential diagnosis in low-resource settings. We aimed to develop a rapid test for CHIKV detection based on the nucleic acid lateral flow immunoassay technology. The system consists of a primer set that recognizes the E1 region of the CHIKV genome and test strips in an enclosed cassette which are used to detect amplicons labeled with FITC/biotin. Amplification of the viral genome was done using open-source PCR, a low-cost open-source thermal cycler. Assay performance was evaluated using a panel of RNA isolated from patients' blood with confirmed CHIKV (n = 8) and dengue virus (n = 20) infection. The open-source PCR-NALFIA platform had a limit of detection of 10 RNA copies/ml. The assay had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% (95% CI: 67.56% - 100%) and 100% (95% CI: 83.89% - 100%), respectively, compared to reference standards of any positive virus culture on C6/36 cell lines and/or qRT-PCR. Further evaluation of its performance using a larger sample size may provide important data to extend its usefulness, especially its utilization in the peripheral healthcare facilities with scarce resources and outbreak situations.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• 제37권3호
• /
• pp.522-535
• /
• 2024

Objective: Transition period is considered from 3 weeks prepartum to 3 weeks postpartum, characterized with dramatic events (endocrine, metabolic, and physiological) leading to occurrence of production diseases (negative energy balance/ketosis, milk fever etc). The objectives of our study were to analyze the periodic concentration of serum beta-hydroxy butyric acid (BHBA), glucose and oxidative markers along with identification, and validation of the putative markers of negative energy balance in buffaloes using in-silico and quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay. Methods: Out of 20 potential markers of ketosis identified by in-silico analysis, two were selected and analyzed by qRT-PCR technique (upregulated; acetyl serotonin o-methyl transferase like and down regulated; guanylate cyclase activator 1B). Additional two sets of genes (carnitine palmotyl transferase A; upregulated and Insulin growth factor; downregulated) that have a role of hepatic fatty acid oxidation to maintain energy demands via gluconeogenesis were also validated. Extracted cDNA (complementary deoxyribonucleic acid) from the blood of the buffaloes were used for validation of selected genes via qRTPCR. Concentrations of BHBA, glucose and oxidative stress markers were identified with their respective optimized protocols. Results: The analysis of qRT-PCR gave similar trends as shown by in-silico analysis throughout the transition period. Significant changes (p<0.05) in the levels of BHBA, glucose and oxidative stress markers throughout this period were observed. This study provides validation from in-silico and qRT-PCR assays for potential markers to be used for earliest diagnosis of negative energy balance in buffaloes. Conclusion: Apart from conventional diagnostic methods, this study improves the understanding of putative biomarkers at the molecular level which helps to unfold their role in normal immune function, fat synthesis/metabolism and oxidative stress pathways. Therefore, provides an opportunity to discover more accurate and sensitive diagnostic aids.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• 제38권1호
• /
• pp.77-80
• /
• 2011

Purpose: We report a patient with DiGeorge syndrome who was later diagnosed as mild metopic synostosis and received anterior 2/3 calvarial remodeling. Methods: A 16-month-old boy, who underwent palatoplasty for cleft palate at Chungnam National University Hospital when he was 12 months old of age, visited St. Mary's Hospital for known DiGeorge syndrome with craniosynostosis. He had growth retardation and was also diagnosed with hydronephrosis and thymic agenesis. His chromosomal study showed microdeletion of 22q11.2. On physical examination, there were parieto-occipital protrusion and bifrontotemporal narrowing. The facial bone computed tomography showed premature closure of metopic suture, orbital harlequin sign and decreased anterior cranial volume. The interorbital distance was decreased (17 mm) and the cephalic index was 93%. Results: After the correction of metopic synostosis by anterior 2/3 calvarial remodeling, the anterior cranial volume expanded with increased interorbital distance and decreased cephalic index. Fever and pancytopenia were noted at 1 month after the operation, and he was diagnosed as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis by bone marrow study. He however, recovered after pediatric treatment. There was no other complication during the 12 month follow up period. Conclusion: This case presents with a rare combination of DiGeorge syndrome and metopic synostosis. When a child is diagnosed with DiGeorge syndrome soon after the birth, clinicians should keep in mind the possibility of an accompanying craniosynostosis. Other possible comorbidities should also be evaluated before the correction of craniosynostosis in patients as DiGeorge syndrome. In addition, postoperative management requires a thorough follow up by a multidisciplinary team of plastic surgeons, neurosurgeons, ophthalmologists and pediatricians.