• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.120-125
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• 2016

Purpose: Viral gastroenteritis among children is mainly caused by rotavirus, norovirus, astrovirus, or adenovirus strains. However, changing socioeconomic conditions and a rotavirus vaccination program may be affecting the prevalence of these viral infections. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the season-specific trends in viral infections for facilitating prophylaxis and surveillance in our region. Methods: We evaluated 345 pediatric patients (203 males, 142 females; age, 1 month to 16 years) who visited the CHA Bundang Medical Center because of gastroenteric symptoms between June 2014 and May 2015. The specimens were simultaneously tested for norovirus, rotavirus, astrovirus, and adenovirus via multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Clinical characteristics of patients were analyzed retrospectively. Results: The most common virus was norovirus, followed by rotavirus, adenovirus, and astrovirus. Of all viral infections, 45.2% occurred mainly between 6 and 24 months of age; in particular, norovirus infection mostly occurred in all age groups except those below 6 months of age, when rotavirus was most prevalent. In addition, seasonal variation was observed, such as norovirus infection from December to February, rotavirus infection from February to April, and adenovirus infection from July to October. Conclusion: Our results showed that the most common cause of acute pediatric viral gastroenteritis had changed from rotavirus to norovirus in our patients, because of effective rotaviral vaccination. We recommend the management of food and personal hygiene in accordance with age or seasons as well as active vaccination for preventing viral gastroenteritis.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.91-99
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• 1996

To understand whether the bats inhabiting in Korea play role as hosts harboring Hantavirus that cause acute febrile diseases, a total number of 802 bats of 9 species were collected from seven provinces in Korea from 1989 to 1995 and tested for the presence of antibodies to Hantavirus by means of immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) technique. The results are summarized as follow. 1. Total 802 captured bats were classified into 9 different species with the following distribution. They were Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Eptesicus serotinus, Miniopterus sehreibersii, Vespertilio superans, Myotis mystatinus, Murina leucogaster, Myotis formosus, Myotis macrodactylus and Plecotus auritus with numbers and rates of 423 (52.74%), 291 (36.28%), 47 (5.86%), 28 (3.49%), 8 (1.00%), 1 (0.12%) and 1 (0.12%), respectively. The predominant species of the bats was Rhinolophus ferrumequinum with 52.74% of the captured. 2. Among 9 species of bats, species of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and Eptesicus serotinus were positive with Hantavirus antibody of strain numbers 76-118. The rate of antibody positive was 3.78%. 3. The seasonal differences of Hantavirus antibody in 802 bats tested were 5.83%, 4.17%, 3.67% and 0.64% in winter, spring, summer and autumn, respectively. Again the highest viral antibody prevalence was detected in winter. It could be concluded through the study that certain species of bats inhabiting in Korea play a definite role as the host animals of certain species of Hantavirus.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.351-353
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• 2010

To investigate the population densities of potential malaria vectors, Anopheles species were collected by light traps in malaria endemic areas, Paju and Gimpo, Gyeonggi-do of Korea. Five Anopheles Hyrcanus sibling species (An. sinensis, An. pullus, An. lesteri, An. kleini, and An. belenrae) were identified by PCR. The predominant species, An. pullus was collected during the late spring and mid-summer, while higher population consists of An. sinensis were collected from late summer to early autumn. These 2 species accounted for 92.1 % of all Anopheles mosquitoes collected, while the other 3 species accounted for 7.9%. Taking into account of these population densities, late seasonal prevalence, and long-term incubation period (9-13 months) of the Korean Plasmodium vivax strain, An. sinensis s.s is thought to play an important role in the transmission of vivax malaria in the study areas.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.555-559
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• 2017

Chigger mites are parasites of rodents and other vertebrates, invertebrates, and other arthropods, and are the only vectors of scrub typhus, in addition to other zoonoses. Therefore, investigating their distribution, diversity, and seasonal abundance is important for public health. Rodent surveillance was conducted at 6 districts in Shandong Province, northern China ($114-112^{\circ}E$, $34-38^{\circ}N$), from January to December 2011. Overall, 225/286 (78.7%) rodents captured were infested with chigger mites. A total of 451 chigger mites were identified as belonging to 5 most commonly collected species and 3 genera in 1 family. Leptotrombidium scutellare and Leptotrombidium intermedia were the most commonly collected chigger mites. L. scutellare (66.2%, 36.7%, and 49.0%) was the most frequently collected chigger mite from Apodemus agrarius, Rattus norvegicus, and Microtus fortis, respectively, whereas L. intermedia (61.5% and 63.2%) was the most frequently collected chigger mite from Cricetulus triton and Mus musculus, respectively. This study demonstrated a relatively high prevalence of chigger mites that varied seasonally in Shandong Province, China.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.55-59
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• 2005

The proper management of the pediatric facial bone fracture is critical in the facial bone development. This study characterizes the surgically treated patient population suffering from facial bone fractures by the use of current data from a large series consisting of 201 cases. The data was gathered through a retrospective chart review of patients surgically treated for facial bone fractures at the department of plastic and reconstructive surgery, Sanggye Paik hospital, Inje university medical center, collected over 10-years period from January, 1993 to December, 2002. Data regarding patient demographics(age, sex), seasonal distribution, location of fractures, and the causes of injury with admission periods, were collected. In total, there were 201cases of pediatric facial bone fractures. Male patients outnumbered female patients by a 5.48: 1 ratio and were found to engage in a wider range of behaviors that resulted in facial bone fractures. Physical violence was the leading cause of pediatric facial bone fractures(27.9%), followed by sports-related mechanisms (22.9%) and falling down(17.9%). The most prevalent age group was 11-15 years-old(71.1%) and there was a 14.3% prevalence in March. Among the location of fractures, the nasal bone was the most prevalent, accounting for 82.3% of injuries, followed by the orbit(9.95%), and the mandible fractures(7.5%). Most patients(59.7%) were treated within 6-9 days after trauma and the mean hospitalization period was 8-11 days. We should follow up the surgically treated patients, and they will be further evaluated about postoperative sequele and effect on the facial bone development. These studies demonstrate differences in the demographics and clinical presentation that, if applied to patients, will enable a more accurate diagnosis and proper management.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 1985

An aerial survey for fungal flora in Seoul has been carried out by Petri plate exposure method for a period of one year. A total of 2227 fungal spores appeared in the plates. Of these, Cladosporium was the commonest fungus representing 43.5% of the total spore count followed by Penicillium (15.8%). Alternaria (10.5%), and Aspergillus (3.8%). There were seasonal variations in the prevalence of fungal spores. The occurrence of these fungi was greatly affected by climatic conditions. However, Alternaria appeared to prefer warmer weather. A comparison of fungal population from the outdoor and indoor air was also investigated to support the view that Alternaria is abundant population from the outdoor air and that Cladosporium from the indoor air depending on their availability in the atmosphere.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.69-76
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• 1998

An apicomplexan parasite, Perkinsus sp. was observed from the cultured baby clams, Ruditapes philippinarum, collected from the coast of Kochang and Taean (South Korea), where it caused seasonal mortality of clams. Several milky-white cysts were observed on the surface of gill and visceral mass of parasitised clams. The trophozoites of parasite had eccentric nucleus and proliferated by schizogony in gill, mantle, hepatopancrease and reproductive tissues, resulting in the formation of granuloma and the intensive infiltration of hemocytes in the tissues. During incubation in FTM, trophozoites increased in size, resulting in prezoosporangia which appeared as round black spheres when colored with Lugols iodine solution. The prevalence of Perkinsus sp. in clams was Kochang, 73.1%; Taean, 94.8% (during 9-mo. survey) and showed size-dependent infection. Hemacolor kit was useful to reduce time for diagnosis of the trophozoite of Perkinsus sp. that has been responsible of massive motalities in the clam.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.751-761
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to assess the physical activity level of Korean farmers to establish their estimated energy requirements during busy farming season. 113 farmers (mean age $51.9{\pm}7.2$ years, male 42, female 71) who own farmland area above 300 pyung participated in measurement of body weight and height and interviewing of one-day activity diaries. There was no significant difference in age, BMI between male and female. Obesity prevalence according to BMI among male and female farmers was 40.5% and 50.7% respectively. The farmers spent about 7 hours in sleeping and spent about 4 hours 35 minutes working on the farm and spent about 15 hours 30 minutes (64.6% of 24 hours) in "very light activities" and spent about 3 hours 31 minutes (14.7%) in "light activities". Physical activity level (PAL, activity coefficient) of male farmers was 2.63 which was significantly higher than that (2.19) of female farmers (p < 0.05). Estimated energy requirements (EER) for farmers who were different in age and gender were suggested. For example, the estimated energy requirements for male and female farmers were 3058 kcal/day and 2279 kcal/day, respectively. The results of this study suggest that estimated energy requirements (EER) of farmers should be differentiated according to seasonal workload and energy balance of farmers should be evaluated to prevent obesity.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.1336-1340
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• 2000

Overall prevalence of Y. enterocolitica in frozen foods was 5.6% (35 cases of 624 samples). Seasonal variation of contamination was observed. Isolation rate of Y. enterocolitica from samples collected in the second half of the year was six times higher than those of the first half of the year. Serotype of the isolated Y. enterocolitica was mainly serotype O:5 (9 cases). However, 25 cases of 35 isolates could not be serotyped with antiserum used in this study. The biotype test showed that all isolates were non-pathogenic type 1A. The polymerase chain reaction test with ail gene specific primers also confirmed that pathogenic strains were not found in frozen food isolates.

• Entomological Research
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.522-532
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• 2018

As the vector-borne diseases rapidly increased due to climate change, we investigated the incidence of flavivirus occurrence among female mosquito species in urban and rural study sites in Daegu and Gunwi, South Korea using Realtime PCR. We collected more individuals and more species of mosquito in 2016 than in 2015. In 2015, we recorded a total of 22,033 mosquitoes (Trap Index, 224.8) representing 10 species from 5 genera, whereas in 2016, a total of 27,137 mosquitoes (Trap Index, 278.7) representing 13 species from 6 genera were collected. The number of mosquitoes in 2016 was higher in all study sites, except in the migratory bird habitats where the number decreased. Of the 14 species collected over the two years, Aedes vexans nipponii and Anopheles spp. were dominant in the cowsheds in rural farmland; Culex pipiens complex, in urban residential areas; and, Anopheles spp. and Cu. pipiens complex in migratory bird habitats caught in a black light trap. Cu. pipiens complex and Ae. albopictus in urban parks and Ae. albopictus and Armigeres subalbatus in migratory bird habitats were the dominant species caught in BG-sentinel traps. We found that the number of mosquitoes was highest during July-September. We analyzed 1,725 pools to detect flavivirus, where Chaoyang virus was detected among Ae. vexans niponii collected from cowsheds in rural farmland in 2016. The increased number of mosquitoes recorded in 2016 was mainly due to increased temperatures in the study areas, and reflected the change in study sites.