• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.327-335
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• 2006

An epidemiological survey of human enterobacterial infections was conducted to determine the prevalence of enteropathogens in the Republic of Korea during one year, 2003. We tested for infectious diseases in 26,992 stool samples obtained from people who visited clinics located in six big cities and six rural provinces. From these samples, we isolated 1,291 cases of enteritis bacterial infection (4.8%). In the urban areas, 821 cases of bacterial infection (6.4%) were identified and, in the rural areas, 479 bacterial strains (3.3%) were isolated. Seasonal patterns were seen for diarrhea associated with S. aureus, S. coli and V. parahaemolyticus, while Salmonella and Shigella infections showed slight seasonal variation. We found that S. aureus and Salmonella were more frequently isolated from children and the elderly; however, the prevalence of E. coli, V. parahaemolyticus, and Shigella were similar in different age groups. Routine monitoring of these infections is considered a worthwhile means by which to elucidate their epidemiology and modes of transmission and ultimately to control them more effectively. Continuous laboratory-based surveillance for findings of enteritis bacterial infection should be emphasized in the prevention of these infections.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.611-617
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• 2005

Dispersed repetitive DNA elements in genomes of microorganisms differ among and within species. Because distances between repetitive sequences vary depending on bacterial strains, genomic fingerprinting with interspersed repetitive sequence-based probes can be used to distinguish unrelated organisms. Among well-known bacterial repetitive sequences, Repetitive Extragenic Palindromic (REP) sequence has been used to identify environmental bacterial species and strains. We applied REP-PCR to detect and differentiate four major Gram-negative food-borne bacterial pathogens, E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, and Vibrio. Target DNA fragments of these pathogens were amplified by REP-PCR method. PCR-generated DNA fragments were separated on 1.5% agarose gel. Dendrograms for PCR products of each strain were constructed using photo-documentation system. REP-PCR reactions with primer pairs REP1R-I and REP2-I revealed distinct REP-PCR-derived genomic fingerprinting patterns from E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, and Vibrio. REP-PCR method provided clear distinctions among different bacterial species containing REP-repetitive elements and can be widely used for typing food-borne Gram-negative strains. Results showed established REP-PCR reaction conditions and generated dendrograms could be used with other supplementary genotyping or phenotyping methods to identify isolates from outbreak and to estimate relative degrees of genetic similarities among isolates from different outbreaks to determine whether they are clonally related.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.389-394
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• 2005

This study was performed to investigate the antimicrobial activity of the Rubia akane Nakai extract against food-borne pathogens. First, the Rubia akane Nakai was extracted with methanol at room temperature and the fractionation of the methanol extract was carried out by using petroleum ether, chloroform, and ethyl acetate, and methanol. The antimicrobial activity of the Rubia akane Nakai extract was determined by using a paper disc method against food-borne pathogens and food spoilage bacteria. The methanol extract of Rubia akane Nakai showed the highest antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Synergistic antimicrobial effect was observed when Rubia akane Nakai extract was mixed with Viscum album var. coloratum extract as compared to each extract alone. Finally, the growth inhibition curves were determined by using methanol extract of Rubia akane Nakai against Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The methanol extract of Rubia akane Nakai had strong antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa at the concentration of 4,000 ppm. At this concentration, the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was retarded more than 72 hours and up to 48 hours for Bacillus cereus. From these results, it was concluded that the methanol extract of Rubia akane Nakai inhibited effectively Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.965-970
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• 2009

PCR technology has been widely used to detect and quantify microbial pathogens in foodstuffs, because the technique is rapid, sensitive, and selective. In this study, detection of contaminating pathogenic bacteria on shells of chicken eggs was performed using both a commercial multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kit and a viable count method employing a selective medium. The PCR kit was capable of detecting Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Salmonella species, and Shigella species. Using the PCR method, five bacterial species were detected from 30 samples (33.3%) of 90 batches of eggs commercially available in a market. PCR products from B. cereus, S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, Y. enterocolitica, and E. coli O157:H7 were detected, and the numbers and frequencies of positive samples were 17 (18.8%), 12 (13.3%), 15 (16.6%), 16 (17.7%),and 4 (4.4%), respectively. None of any Salmonella species, C. jejuni, V. parahaemolyticus, or Shigella species was detected in this study. The results of PCR testing were confirmed using a typical viable count method employing a selective medium. We suggest that the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) assay is a rapid and reliable method for detection of pathogenic bacteria contaminating eggs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.324-331
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• 2012

Bacteriological examination of spring water in Jeju City was conducted. A total of 21 spring water samples were collected from January to April, 2010. During the study period, the range of temperature was 0.6 to $15.4^{\circ}C$, and the results of the analyses showed that hydrogen ion concentrations (pH) for spring water were 0.43 to 7.9. Salinity levels for the samples averaged from 3.0 to 1.64%, and levels of water-dissolved oxygen were 1.85 to 6.06 mg/l. The range of total coliforms in spring water samples at 21 stations located in the designated spring water were <1.8->1,600 MPN/100 ml. Furthermore, the range of geometric means of total coliforms was 9.9-151.6 MPN/100 ml, while the range of fecal coliforms in spring water samples at 21 stations located in the designated spring water area was <1.8->1,600 MPN/100 ml. Finally, the range of geometric mean of fecal coliforms was 3.1-151.6 MPN/100 ml. The level of microbial contamination was examined in 21 samples for indications of bacterial contamination such as heterotrophic bacteria, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Shigella spp. were frequently detected in the spring water. Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and S. aureus were detected in the range of $0-0.5{\times}10^1$, $0-0.1{\times}10^1$, $0-0.1{\times}10^1$, and $0-0.3{\times}10^1$ CFU/ml, respectively, while E. coli O157:H7 was not detected in the examined spring water samples.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1374-1380
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• 2007

The development of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology has the potential to solve for isolating pathogenic microorganisms from environmental samples than traditional plate counting methods. We have been detected pathogenic bacteria from raw water and water treatment process in Busan metropolitan city by PCR method. According to the result of survey from July 2004 to October 2005, 80 out of 92(87.0%) were positive for bacterial pathogens in raw water samples and positive rate of Shigella spp., Yersinia spp., Salmonella spp. and Legionella spp. were 46.2%, 40.7%, 17.6% and 9.9%, respectively. Pathogenic bacteria in raw water was mainly distributed through the lately Autumn to the winter and more highly detected Maeri than Mulgum region. During the period of survey in water treatment process, Shigella spp. was highly detected but all of bacterial pathogens were entirely removed after in post-ozonation step. These suggest that waters supplied in Busan metropolitan city may be safe against the pathogenic bacteria.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.228-233
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• 2012

Trifoliate orange seed extracts (TSEs) were prepared from different solvents, water (TW), ethanol (TE), and n-hexane (TH), and assessed for their antimicrobial activities against six gram-negative food-borne pathogens (Escherichia coli KCTC 1039, Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 43895, Salmonella Enteritidis ATCC 3311, Salmonella Typhimurium KCCM 11862, Shigella sonnei KCTC 2518, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus ATCC 17802). Among the tested TSEs, TE and TH showed a slight inhibition activity on V. parahaemolyticus ATCC 17802, but a good growth inhibition activity on Sal. Typhimurium KCCM 11862. TH and TE showed steady growth inhibition activity with increasing growth time after 6 hr when compared to the control (p<0.05). From these results, we confirmed the possibility of TH and TE as antimicrobial materials.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.154-157
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• 2015

A major cause of diarrhea in a dog is an infection with bacteria which include Salmonella spp., Campylobacter (C.) spp., and Clostridium (Cl.) spp.. It is fastidious to identify these bacteria by the culture. The purpose of this experiment is to devise the method for detecting Cl. perfringens, C. jejuni, C. coli, and Salmonella spp. with rapid and high sensitivity. The fecal samples collected from 71 normal and 66 diarrheic dog feces were used to compare the prevalence of the enteric pathogens and to develop a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for clinical use. Detection of Cl. perfringens, C. coli, and C. jejuni in diarrhea feces was higher than normal feces. A developed multiplex real-time PCR is useful for determining the presence and quantity of pathogen-specific or other unique sequences with in a fecal sample.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.225-237
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• 2000

Vibrio vulnificus, a halophilic vibrio is an estuarine gram-negative bacteria that is associated with severe and frequently fatal wound infections and life-threatening septicemia. Bacteriocins are defined as antibacterial substance produced by various species of bacteria which are usually active against closely related organisms. Bacteriocins have found widespread application in epidemiological studies as specific markers of bacteria. It was proposed by Ha et al. (1990. J. Korean. Soc. Microbiol. 25: 586.) to give the bacteriocins produced by V. vulnificus the name "vulnificins". In the present study, a total of 72 strains of V. vulnificus isolated from patients and oysters were subjected to screen potential producers and indicators of vulnificin, applying ultraviolet induction method. Sensitivity of several strains of Serratia marcesans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella flexneri, Salmonella typhi and Yersinia enterocolitica to vulnificins were also examined out. All the tested strains of V. vulnificus produced vulnificins active against indicator strains with various different inhibitory patterns. The spectrum of vulnificin activity and sensitive spectrum of indicator strains were considerably broad. Interestingly, almost all strains of S. marcescens, P. aeruginosa, Salmonella sp., Shigella sp. and Y. enterocolitica tested were sensitive to 1-7 vulnificin(s). Taken together, the present study demonstrated that all of the isolates of V. vulnificus produced vulnificins and that 8 good vulnificin producers and 10 good indicators were detected. These strains can be employed efficiently for establishing vulnificin typing scheme of V. vulnificus and for the detection of bacteriocinogeny and sensitivity in V. vulnificus. Biological role of vulnificin remains to be further elucidated.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.683-687
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• 2004

Raw beefs used fer Jangzorim production were evaluated fur contamination of pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms related to spoilage and food safety. Eleven groups of mesophilic, psychrotrophic, and anaerobic microorganisms, and total coliforms were selected to evaluate degree of food contamination. Nine strains including Bacillus cereus, Clostridium botulinum, C. perfringens, and Listeria monocytogenes were selected to evaluate incidences of pathogenic bacteria. Raw beefs harbored large populations of microorganisms, which decreased greatly after heat treatment. Psychrotrophic microorganisms were found to be more abundant than other microorganisms. B. cereus, C. perfringens, and L. monocytogenes were isolated from raw beefs, whereas C. botulinum, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Yersinia enterocolitica were not isolated. Isoiates from Cereus selective agar, clostridium Perfringens agar, and Oxford agar were in 99.8, 99.9 and 98.6% agreements with B. cereus, C. perfringens, and L. monocytogenes at species level, respectively. B. cereus produced enterotoxin with CRET-RPLA method, whereas C. perfringens did not produce enterotoxin with PET-RPLA method.