• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.420-426
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• 2017

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRS) can be colonized in various body sites and is more frequently isolated in healthcare associated persons. This study aimed to evaluate the contamination rate of MRS in a high school environment, those living with closed life style. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from only the hands of 2 students among a sample of 28 students, and S. aureus were susceptible to methicillin antibiotics. Coagulase negative Staphylococci (CoNS) were isolated from the hands of 26 students (26/28, 92.9%), and among them, 14 (53.8%) isolates were methicillin-resistant CoNS (MRCoNS). Among the 14 MRCoNS, S. warneri was the most common (8/14, 57%) and susceptible to most $non-{\beta}-lactam$ antibiotics, such as clindamycin, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, gentamicin, and vancomycin. In a culture of 31 desks, S. aureus was not isolated but CoNS were isolated from 26 desks (26/31, 83.6%), which did not harbor the mecA gene. The other bacteria isolated from the hands and desks were Micrococcus and Bacillus spp. In conclusion, methicillin-resistant S. aureus was not isolated from the hands and desks of high school students. However, the frequency of MRCoNS harboring mecA gene were high in the hands of high school students. Therefore, to prevent and to control the transfer of infection, intensifying preventive education, such as hand washing, and active surveillance systems, such as an investigation of contamination or carrier rate of resistant bacteria are necessary.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.55-72
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• 1995

Forty gentamicin-resistant isolates of Enterococcus faecalis were selected from various clinical materials, determined their antimicrobial susceptibility, and studied there R-plasmid characteristics and polypeptide patterns. All of the isolates were susceptible to vancomycin. The MICs($\mu$/ml) of antimicrobial agents to the isolates were as follows; the MIC of gentamicin was 128 and $\geq$2040, ampicillin 1 and 1, chlorarmphenicol 2 and 8, erythromycin 32 and 256, and vancomycin 1 and 2. E. faecalis HL-1 strain had 8 plasmid DNA elements, HL-2 and HL-3 strains had 6, HL-4 had 7, HL-5 had 4, and HL-6 had 5. The 51.7 Kb of gentamicin resistance plasmid DNA was conjugally transferred from two strains of E. faecalis HL-1 and HL-6 to S. aureus SK 982. The plasmid transfer frequency between S. aureus SK 982 and E. faecalis HL-1 or E. faecalis HL-6 was 6.3$\times10^{-4} and 3.7$\times10^{-5}$, respectively. Plasmid curing ratio after the treatment of ethidium bromide(10$\mu$/ml) to E. faecalis tarnsconjugants R-1 and R-6 were about 51% and 67%, respectively. The tetracycline gene was located in 2.15 Kb plasmid of E. faecalis HL-1, but it was not found in the E. faecalis HL-6 by Southern blot analyses. The antigenic components of E. faecalis HL-1, HL-6, R-1 and R-6 strains were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting. The E. faecalis strains had 7 to 16 polypeptide bands, however their major proteins were 97.8 and 26.8 Kd. At the Immunoblotting, 97.8, 95.8, 74.8, 63.5, 33.7 and 26.8 Kd polypeptides of the strains showed major antigenic activities with patient's sera infected intra-abdominally with an E. faecalis strain.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.89-96
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• 2017

The majority of freshwater ornamental fish are imported and distributed domestically, causing high risk of exposure to exotic pathogens and drug resistant bacteria in Korea. Aeromonas hydrophila is known as a common species of fresh water bacteria and opportunistic fish pathogen, as well as a species causing zoonotic infection. In this study, we isolated motile aeromonads from various imported freshwater ornamental fish and studied the characters of the isolates. Imported freshwater ornamental fish were purchased on day 1 after the fish were deposited in the aquarium. Bacteria were isolated from the liver, kidney and spleen of fish using 0.5% NaCl containing tryptic soy agar medium. Bacteria were grouped on the basis of their morphological characteristics. The colonies with clear zone on starch-ampicillin agar (SA agar) were tentatively identified as Aeromonas spp. Two hundred and twenty-six strains, about 70% of total isolates were assumed to be Aeromonas spp. Nine isolates were further identified based on the result of the API 20E test and PCR using primers specific for A. hydrophila 16S rRNA gene. The isolates were identified as A. hydrophila and the API 20E test showed differences in trisodium citrate, D-sucrose, D-melibiose, amygdalin and L-arabinose availability between the nine isolates and standard A. hydrophila. The susceptibilities of the isolated bacteria to 10 antibacterial agents were confirmed by the disk diffusion method. Isolated strains were found to be resistant to amoxicillin and ampicillin and sensitive to florfenicol. However, 7 isolates showed multiple drug resistances to erythromycin, oxytetracycline, nalidixic acid etc. Pathogenicity of the isolates was determined by the artificial challenge test on goldfish (Carassius auratus). Three isolates caused 60 ~ 80% mortality in goldfish within 5 days after the initiation of challenge. These results indicate that multiple drug resistant, highly pathogenic and exotic A. hydrophila can spread to domestic aquarium and the preventive treatment of fish before sale is necessary.