• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.85-90
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• 2018

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a global health concern and can cause serious complications such as miscarriage, premature birth, and pelvic infection in pregnant women. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and information on the epidemiologic trends are critical. However, studies of STI trends in Cheonan, South Korea, have not been conducted since 2012. We examined the STI trends in the Cheonan area after 2012. From January 2011 to September 2017, 3,362 cervical swab specimens from female patients were sampled at the Dankook University Hospital and analyzed by multiplex PCR. Of the 3,362 specimens, 1,281 were positive for pathogens (38.92%). A total of 1,893 pathogens were detected. Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, and Chlamydia trachomatis were the most frequent pathogens, accounting for 36.29% (687/1,893), 30.16% (571/1,893), and 19.97% (378/1,893) of the pathogen-positive samples, respectively. In the 2009-2012 analysis, M. hominis was identified as the predominant pathogen in STI samples, whereas U. urealyticum was identified as the major pathogen in this study. In many countries, including South Korea and the United States, the rate of STIs is increasing, while a decreasing trend was observed in Cheonan.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1484-1490
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• 2013

A lack of investigation in specific regions has impeded the understanding of epidemiological trends in the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in South Korea. To help fill this research gap, this study used multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) to determine the prevalence of STIs detected in clinical specimens collected from women in Cheonan, South Korea between August 2006 and November 2012, and analyzed the prevalence of STIs according to age, bacterial pathogen, and time period. Of the 1,618 specimens collected from 1,523 patients, 536 (35.2%) tested positive for at least 1 pathogen, with 407 (25.2%) testing positive for 1 pathogen, 103 (6.4%) for 2 pathogens, 20 (1.2%) for 3 pathogens, and 6 (0.4%) for 4 pathogens (n = 697 pathogens total). The median ages of all patients and of STI-positive patients were 37.8 and 33.3 years, respectively, and both decreased annually over the study period. Mycoplasma hominis (MH) was detected in 62.1% of the positive specimens, Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) in 28.4%, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) in 23.1%, Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) in 7.8%, Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) in 6.5%, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) in 2.1%. Whereas the prevalence of MH, MG, and TV infection did not vary greatly over the study period, that of UU decreased by one-fifth and that of both CT and NG increased 4-fold. The results indicate great variability in the rates of infection with each pathogen and a decreasing trend in overall STI prevalence, age of patients seeking STI testing, and age of STI-positive patients.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.453-459
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• 2007

We developed a multiplex PCR (mPCR) assay to simultaneously detect Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Corynebacterium spp. and seudomona aeruginosa. This method employs a single tube and multiple specific primers which yield 200, 281, 346, 423, 542, and 1,427 bp PCR products, respectively. All the PCR products were easily detected by agarose gel electrophoresis and were sequenced to confirm the specificity of the reactions. To test this method, DNA extracted from urine samples was collected from 96 sexually transmitted disease or prostatitis patients at a local hospital clinical center, and were subjected to the mPCR assay. The resulting amplicons were cloned and sequenced to exactly match the sequences of known pathogenic isolates. N. gonorrhoeae and Corynebacterium spp. were the most frequently observed pathogens found in the STDs and prostatitis patients, respectively. Unexpectedly, P. aeruginosa was also detected in some of the STD and prostatitis samples. More than one pathogen species was found in 10% and 80.7% of STD and prostatitis samples, respectively, indicating that STD and prostatitis patients may have other undiagnosed and associates. The sensitivity of the assay was determined by sing purified DNA from six pathogenic laboratory strains and revealed that this technique could detect pathogenic DNA at concentrations ranging from 0.018 to $1.899\;pg/{\mu}l$. Moreover, the specificities of this assay were found to be highly efficient. Thus, this mPCR assay may be useful for the rapid diagnosis of causative infectious STDs and prostatitis. useful for the infectious STDs and prostatitis.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.390-397
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• 2019

High risk-human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is known to be a major cause of cervical cancer, and coinfection of sexually transmitted pathogen (STP) has been reported to cause persistent HPV infection. However, the relationship between HPV and STP coinfection remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to analyze the coinfection rate with STP in high-risk human papillomavirus infected women in Busan and to collect basic data for the prevention of cervical lesions. This study was carried out in 355 women who had concurrent HPV and STP screening at Busan local hospital between January 2016 and December 2017. HPV and STP coinfection was found in 187 (52.7%) out of 355 cases. HR-HPV and STP coinfection was 82.9% higher than LR-HPV and STP coinfections 17.1%. In HR-HPV infection, Ureaplasma species was the most common pathogen (47.1%), followed by C. trachomatis (21.9%) and Mycoplasma species (12.3%). In the analysis of HR-HPV genotype according to STP, HPV 16 (12.0%) was the most frequent, followed by HPV 58 (11.6%), HPV 39 (11.1%) and HPV 52 (10.2%), but HPV 18 showed a low coinfection rate of 1.3%. According to the results of age, HR-HPV and STP coinfection rate was the highest at 41.9% among women aged 18 to 29. HR-HPV and Ureaplasma species showed the highest coinfection rates at all ages, followed by C. trachomatis and Mycoplasma species. Further studies with more samples will be needed to determine if the coinfection of HR-HPV and STPs is involved in the development of cervical tumors through histologic changes.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.60 no.7
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• pp.203-207
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• 2017

Chorioamnionitis is an inflammation in the fetal membranes or placenta. When chorioamnionitis develops, fetal lungs are exposed to inflammatory cytokines and mediators via amniotic fluid. Because inflammation plays a pivotal role in the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung disease of prematurity, fetal lung inflammation induced by chorioamnionitis has been considered to be one of the major pathogenetic factors for BPD. Although there have been a number of studies that demonstrated the relationship between chorioamnionitis and BPD, there are still controversies on this issue. The controversies on the relationship between chorioamnionitis and BPD arise from not-unified definitions of chorioamnionitis and BPD, different study populations, and the proportion of contribution between inflammation and infectious microorganisms. The publication bias also contributes to the controversies. Clinical trials targeting chorioamnionitis or microorganisms that cause chorioamnionitis will answer on the actual relationship between chorioamnionitis and BPD and provide a novel prophylactic strategy against BPD based on that relationship.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.207-213
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• 2017

Objective: This study investigated the prevalence of infections with human papillomavirus, Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, and Mycoplasma genitalium in the semen of Korean infertile couples and their associations with sperm quality. Methods: Semen specimens were collected from 400 men who underwent a fertility evaluation. Infection with above five pathogens was assessed in each specimen. Sperm quality was compared in the pathogen-infected group and the non-infected group. Results: The infection rates of human papillomavirus, C. trachomatis, U. urealyticum, M. hominis, and M. genitalium in the study subjects were 1.57%, 0.79%, 16.80%, 4.46%, and 1.31%, respectively. The rate of morphological normality in the U. urealyticum-infected group was significantly lower than in those not infected with U. urealyticum. In a subgroup analysis of normozoospermic samples, the semen volume and the total sperm count in the pathogen-infected group were significantly lower than in the non-infected group. Conclusion: Our results suggest that infection with U. urealyticum alone and any of the five sexually transmitted infections are likely to affect sperm morphology and semen volume, respectively.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.270-276
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• 2022

This study analyzed the epidemiological trends of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) according to age and sex among individuals aged 50 years or older in South Korea from September 2018 to December 2020. We found that the positivity rate for Gardnerella vaginalis was the highest in the study group, followed by the positivity rate for Ureaplasma parvum (UP). Interestingly, the positivity rates for Mycoplasma hominis and UP were higher in female participants than in male participants. The positivity rate for Treponema pallidum was very low in the female participants. During the study period, the positivity rate for herpes simplex virus 2 increased in the female participants, while the positivity rate for Candida increased in the male participants. These results show that the STI positivity rate varies according to age and sex, and a difference was observed in the average age of positive participants according to the type of STIs. We found a clear pattern of infection in the elderly population and according to sex. Our findings are expected to be used as baseline data for future research, education, and prevention of STIs in the elderly population.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.311-318
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• 1996

Mycoplasmas have long been suspected of contributing to involuntary infertility in couples. However considerable disagreement exits concerning the role of genital mycoplasma infection in human infertility. Several investigators have noted abnormalities in the semen analysis of men with positive mycoplasma cultures, and early epidemiologic studies indicated that Ureaplasma urealyticum was linked to human reproductive failure on the basis of higher frequencies of isolation from infertile versus fertile couples and successful pregnancies in infertile couples after doxycycline therapy. However, subsequent investigators have questioned these findings because there are many studies in which treatment for mycoplasma in the male or female did not demonstrate an improved pregnancy rate, and semen samples from unexplained infertile men containing ureaplasmas have not revealed poorer motility, fewer spermatozoa and more aberrant forms. The objective of this study were to investigate the incidence rate of mycoplasma in semen and to investigate whether the presence of mycoplasma in semen makes significant difference to the semen volume, sperm motility and sperm counts. The results were that the rate of isolation of mycoplasma species was 70.3%. Semen volume is $2.84{\pm}1.01ml$ for culture negative and $3.15{\pm}1.42ml$ for culture positive group. Sperm motility is $46.23{\pm}15.80%$ for culture negative and $50.09{\pm}15.69%$ for culture positive group, and sperm count is $95.47{\pm}47.14({\times}(P)10^6/ml)$ for culture negative and $86.73{\pm}47.59({\times}10^6/ml)$ for culture positive group. In conclusion, we suggest that the presence of mycoplasma in semen makes no significant differences to the sperm parameters.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.75-80
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• 2016

This study explored epidemiological trends in trichomoniasis in Daegu, South Korea. Wet mount microscopy, PCR, and multiplex PCR were used to test for Trichomonas vaginalis in vaginal swab samples obtained from 621 women visiting 2 clinics in Daegu. Of the 621 women tested, microscopy detected T. vaginalis in 4 (0.6%) patients, PCR detected T. vaginalis in 19 (3.0%) patients, and multiplex PCR detected T. vaginalis in 12 (1.9%) patients. Testing via PCR demonstrated high sensitivity and high negative predictive value for T. vaginalis. Among the 19 women who tested positive for T. vaginalis according to PCR, 94.7% (18/19) reported vaginal signs and symptoms. Notably, more than 50% of T. vaginalis infections occurred in females younger than 30 years old, and 58% were unmarried. Multiplex PCR, which simultaneously detects pathogens from various sexually transmitted infections, revealed that 91.7% (11/12) of patients were infected with 2 or more pathogens. Mycoplasma hominis was the most prevalent co-infection pathogen with T. vaginalis, followed by Ureaplasma urealyticum and Chlamydia trachomatis. Our results indicate that PCR and multiplex PCR are the most sensitive tools for T. vaginalis diagnosis, rather than microscopy which has been routinely used to detect T. vaginalis infections in South Korea. Therefore, clinicians should take note of the high prevalence of T. vaginalis infections among adolescent and young women in order to prevent persistent infection and transmission of this disease.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.21-29
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• 2015

Objectives This study aimed to investigate therapeutic effect of Korean Medicine Steam Therapy (KMST) for leukorrhea patients. Methods From December 1st 2013 to Nov 31st 2014, 16 leukorrhea outpatients treated with KMST filled out questionnaire before and after treatments. The questionnaire was composed of 8 question items such as sleep, appetite & digestion, urination, defecation, emotion, cold hypersensitivity, menstrual pain, leukorrhea and patients were told to evaluate their symptoms as NRS score. We analyzed mean NRS score of each question item before and after KMST by using Wilcoxon's signed rank test of SPSS ver. 19. Results Mean age of participants was 40.8±13.0 years and mean value of treatment numbers per person was 3.8±1.8 times. 43.75% (n=7) of the patients had history of vaginitis caused by gardnella vaginalis, ureaplasma urealyticum or candida albicans. All patients were treated with acupuncture, moxibustion and Korean medicine. In addition, there was no side effect reported by participants. NRS score of quantity, odor of leukorrhea, perineal unpleasant sensation such as itching, dryness, burning sensation remarkably decreased (p<0.01, p<0.05, p<0.01 each). NRS score of symptoms including sleep, urination, cold hypersensitivity, menstrual pain also remarkably decreased (p<0.05). Conclusions Symptoms of leukorrhea patients including sleep, urination, cold hypersensitivity, menstrual pain, leukorrhea showed significant decrease after treated with concurrent KMST.