• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.1206-1211
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• 2005

Purpose : Pneumococcal protein vaccine based on pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) is in development with the potential to offer a broad range of protection against different strains. PspA elicits protection in mice against fatal sepsis as well as carriage and lung infection. This study was performed to investigate the frequency of PspA families among Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered from Korean children and adults. Methods : A total of 89 pneumococcal isolates was included in the study. They were capsule serotyped by the slide agglutination assay with commercial antisera. PspA families were determined with polymerase chain reaction using the pair of primers for family 1 and family 2. Results : Seventeen pneumococcal serotypes were found in a total of 89 isolates. PspA typing was able to ascertain 79 of the 89 isolates (88.8 percent). Among these, 20 (22.5 percent) isolates were family 1 PspA, 59 (66.3 percent) were family 2. Moreover, because 9 (10.1 percent) isolates were of positive reactions for both, families 1 and 2 primers, the potential coverage of PspA vaccine was 98.9 percent. PspA families were not associated with age group, source of isolates, or penicillin susceptibility. However, the relative distribution of family 1 isolates to family 2 isolates was significantly different over capsular serotypes. Conclusion : The finding that 98.9 percent of Korean isolates belonging to PspA families 1 and 2 support the hypothesis that a human PspA vaccine covering a few PspA families could be broadly effective. The monitoring of the PspA families derived from large population-based isolates will be necessary in the context of vaccine development.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 1992

This study was carried out in order to identify the biochemical and serological characteristics of Edwardsiella tarda isolated from cultured flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus in the east and south coast of Korea. During the year of 1990 and 1991, the number of isolated E. tarda were 131 strains. To identify the biochemical characteristics of them kinds of tests were conducted. The results represented that all the strains had the same biochemical characteristics, and their biochemical characteristics were no differences among strains. A serological analysis was carried out based on agglutination test with antiserum belonging to E. tarda serotype a (E-22), b (SU-138), c (SU-100) classfied in japan. The selected 10 isolates showed agglutinin titer of 5120-2560, 40-80 and below 40 against E. tarda serotype a, b and c, respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE) profiles of cell proteins of selected 10 isolates were showed no differences in kinds and volumes of proteins among strains.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.347-356
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and cross-protection of serovar 12 against serovar 4 or 5 of H parasuis with M+$Parapac^{(R)}$. A total of 141 piglets from 2(A and B) farms were used and divided into experimental group and control group in each farm. Farm A has been detected H parasuis serovar 12, whereas farm B has been detected H parasuis serovar 4 or 5 from post-weaned pigs with PMWS. The piglets were vaccinated intramuscularly with 2.0ml of M+$Parapac^{(R)}$ in experimental group or normal saline in control group at 1 week of age. A same booster dose was given at 3 weeks of age. In order to value the antibody titer to H parasuis using by tube agglutination test, blood samples were collected from piglets at the aged of 1 week, 6 and 14 weeks. In experimental group and control group, the average antibody titers were $32.5{\pm}21.0,\;114.5{\pm}34.0,\;98.1{\pm}55.4$ and $32.9{\pm}18.6,\;25.8{\pm}36.9,\; 746.7{\pm}1,215.8$ at the aged of 1 week, 6 and 14 weeks, respectively. The cumulative clinical sign indexes by standard guideline of Schering-Plough Animal Health Corp were 486 and 1,069, respectively. The average daily gains and feed conversion rates were $0.553{\pm}0.016kg$ and $0.492{\pm}0.004kg$, and 1.99 and 2.24, respectively. The average gross lesion scores were $1.0{\pm}0.8$ and $1.9{\pm}0.6$, respectively. According to these results, the M+$Parapac^{(R)}$ containing H parasuis serovar 12 may be induce circulating antibodies that cross-react with serovar 4 or 5 and have a protection of PMWS with H parasuis.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.97-102
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• 2001

Olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus known as an one of the major aquacultured species in Korea were exposed to cadmium(Cd) with different protocols and analyzed the effects of exposure on the immune response. Antibody levels in sera of the group exposed to Cd(20ppb) by immersion method from 2 weeks before immuniztion with formalinised Edwardsiella tarda(E. tarda) KFE entigen to the end of experiment reached to peak level faster than that of the non-exposed group. After this peaking time the levels decreased much at a faster rate compared to the non-exposed group. This tendency was also appeared in the numbers of specific antibody secreting cells(SASC) analyzed with the enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT)-assay technique in the splenocytes of the experimental groups exposed to Cd with different ways. Interestingly, the group exposed to Cd for 2 weeks before immunization also showed increased numbers of SASC unlikely the antibody production and suggested a more critical influence of cadmium exposure in early stage of immune reaction. Artificial infection with live E. tarda KFE induces 100% mortality in the flounder exposed to cadmium throughout the experimental period from two weeks before the immunization. It may imply that some other factors related to specific immunity are involving in the defence system of flounder exposed to Cd. Taked together. Cd exposure may induce temporaily stimulatory or indhibitory effects on the immune reaction, but suppress the physiological systems for the resistant against the infective agents with other toxic effects.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.178-185
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• 2003

Purpose : Group A streptococci(GAS) was isolated from the patients with acute pharyngitis. Epidemiological studies using T typing and emm genotyping was performed for GAS and compared with the results of the carriers. Methods : Throat cultures were taken from 246 children(123 boys, 123 girls) from November, 2001 to May, 2002 who visited a pediatrician's office located in Jinju, Gyeongnam province. T types were identified with slide agglutination and emm genotypes were identified with DNA sequencing after amplification of emm genes. Results : One hundred thirty(52.8%) out of 246 children yielded beta-hemolytic streptococci, of which 96.1% were group A. Children from 4 to 7 years old comprised 70.4% of the GAS positive group. T12 were the most common(35.2%) and T non-typeable strains were the next(30.4%). emm12 was most frequent(28.5%), and emm75(18.7%), emm22(13.0%), emm2(12.2%), and emm8(8.1%) were relatively common. Conclusion : Since GAS is so highly prevalent in acute pharyngitis, indeed being half of the population, good clinical practice dictates the systematic employment of throat culture for acute pharyngitis before prescribing antibiotics in a pediatric setting. The distribution of the T antigens and emm genes showed similar pattern between the acute pharyngitis and the carriers.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.133-151
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• 1995

During 2 years from Octorber 1992 to April 1994, prevalence of general respiratory diseases and atrophic rhinitis in the pig herds located in the Western Chungnam was investigated, and isolation of B. bronchiseptica was attempted for the pigs manifested with the clinical signs of atrophic rhinitis(AR). The isolates were characterized and identified in aspects of biochemical properties, antigenicity, drug sensitivity and pathogenicity. The results obtained through the experiments are summarized as follows; 1. During 2 years of investigation, the overall prevalence of the general respiratory diseases in the pi8 herds in Western Chungnam was 35.3%, consisting of 35.1% in the pig farms and 38.8% in a slaughter house. The prevalence by age groups accounts for 9.2% in adults, 44.7% in rearings and 25.3% in sucklings. By farm size, The highest prevalence of 56.5% was observed in the smallest farm with 1 to 200 heads. 2. The prevalence of clinical cases of artrophic rhinitis was recorded by 12.7% in the group that is the sows and piglets vaccinated, 28.9% in the group that is the sows only vaccinated and 39.8% in the group of the non-vaccinated groups. In the slaughter house, 53(24.8%) of 214 pigs examined exhibit the AR lesions. 3. A total of 189 strains of B. bronchiseptica were isolated from the pig herds. Isolation rates were 12.6% in the group that is the sows and piglets vaccinated, 34.1% in the group that is the sows only vaccinated and 45.7% in the group of the non-vaccinated groups. Isolation rate in the specimen from the slaughter house was 93( 43.5% ) of 214 pigs examined. Of the AR-non-vaccinated group, the piglets aged bet- ween 61 to 90 days revealed the highest isolation rate of 58.5%. 4. The titers of antibody against B. bronchiseptica were measured by tube agglutination test. The group that is the sow and piglet-vaccinated showed the highest titer of 640-2, 560 in sow and 640longrightarrow5, 120 in piglet. The group that is the sows only-vaccinated revealed 640-2, 560 in sows and 640-1, 280 in piglets. Both of the vaccinated groups showed 100% positive reaction. The group of the non-vaccinated sho-wed relatively lower titer of 0-1, 280 in both of sows and piglets. The positive rate of the sera obtained from the slaughter house was 53.3% with the antibody titer of 0-1, 280. 5. Biochemical and serological properities of 189 isolates were very similar to those of the reference B. bronchiseptical phase I type, indicating that most of isolates are B. bronchiseptica phase I type. 6. In antimicrobial drug susceptibility, 87.3% of 189 isolates was susceptible to chloramphenicol, 79.9%, to amikacin, 64.6%, to cephalothin and less than 35.4% to others. 7. In agar-gel immunodiffusion and SDS-PAGE analysis, the isolates presented the identical antigenicity and protein profiles to the reference standard strains. 8. The whole cells and bacterial filtrates of the isolates were inoculated to guinea pigs and mice. The isolates showed the hish pathogenicity and dermonecrotoxiciy.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2006

The immunogenicity of Edwardsiella tarda was surveyed under two different culture conditions. In SDS-PAGE patterns of the outer membrane proteins (OMPs) extracts of E. tarda, grown under Trypic soy broth (TSB) and TSB supplemented iron chelate 2,2‘-dipyridyl iron-restricted condition, were examined. The results showed that the iron-regulated outer membrane protein (IROMPs) with molecular masses of 68 and 73 kDa were expressed by bacteria grown in iron-chelate TSB.The pathogenicity was examined by intraperitoneal injection with live E. tarda grown under TSB, iron-chelate TSB and iron-supplemented TSB. The result of pathogenicity test showed significantly high mortality in the group of live E. tarda grown under iron-chelate TSB.The effect of formalin killed cell (FKC) of TSB cultured bacteria and 2,2'-dipyridyl FKC (DP-FKC) of cultured bacteria on the iron-chelate TSB on the development of protective immunity in olive flounder was studied. The level of immune response was evaluated with immunized fish at 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks after immunization. The numbers of specific antibody secreting cells (SASCs) showed significantly increased level at 2 week after immunization in each group. The agglutination titre of immunized fish was significantly high level at 3 weeks after immunization.The level of protection in olive flounder at 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks after vaccination was examined by intraperitoneal challenge test with live E. tarda.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.363-367
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• 2013

The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in birds has epidemiological significance because birds are indeed considered as a good indicator of environmental contamination by T. gondii oocysts. In this study, the prevalence of T. gondii in 313 house sparrows in Lanzhou, northwestern China was assayed by the modified agglutination test (MAT). Antibodies to T. gondii were positive in 39 (12.46%) of 313 samples (MAT titer ${\geq}$ 1:5). Tissues of heart, brain, and lung from the 39 seropositive house sparrows were tested for T. gondii DNA, 11 of which were found to be positive for the T. gondii B1 gene by PCR amplification. These positive DNA samples were typed at 9 genetic markers, including 8 nuclear loci, i.e., SAG1, 5'- and 3'-SAG2, alternative SAG2, SAG3, GRA6, L358, PK1, c22-8 and an apicoplast locus Apico. Of them, 4 isolates were genotyped with complete data for all loci, and 2 genotypes (Type II variants; ToxoDB #3 and a new genotype) were identified. These results showed that there is a potential risk for human infection with T. gondii in this region. To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. gondii seroprevalence in house sparrows in China.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.237-242
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• 2009

Objectives : The incidence of zoonoses in Korea has increased recently. However, the study of high risk groups for zoonoses has not been conducted to date in Korea. Thus, we did this study to obtain data on brucellosis among slaughterhouse workers in Korea. Methods : We evaluated the structure of slaughterhouses and the process of slaughtering by reviewing the relevant literature and doing field studies. We visited 73 slaughterhouses and 62 residual products handle houses across the country. In addition, we conducted a questionnaire survey of the work activities, and obtained blood samples in order to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors of brucellosis. The titers of brucellosis antibodies were measured using the standard tube agglutination test SAT). We diagnosed subjects as seropositive for Brucellosis if the titers were more than 1:160. The data collected was evaluated using SPSS ver. 17.0. Results : We included 1,503 subjects and obtained 1,482 blood samples among them: 849 workers involved in slaughtering, 351 handlers of residual products, 190 inspectors and their assistants, and 92 grading testers and their assistants. The seroprevalence of brucellosis among the slaughterhouse workers was 0.8% (95% CI=0.4-1.5). Broken down, the seroprevalence of brucellosis among the workers involved in slaughtering was 0.7% (95% CI=0.3-1.6), the handlers of residual products was 1.7% (95% CI=0.7-3.9) respectively. Risk factors for contracting brucellosis among slaughterhouse workers were being splashed with cattle blood around the mouth, cattle secretions around the body and not putting on protective apron while at work. Conclusions : An educational program is needed for high risk groups on zoonoses about the prevention of infection. Thus, effective working guidelines for workers who participate in the slaughter of animals must be developed in order to protect them from zoonoses.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.347-353
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• 2006

Serum samples of 30 chickens per flock from 6 grand parent stock (GPS) farms and 70 parent stock (PS) farms were collected for seroprevalent study of pullorum disease-fowl typhoid (PD-FT) infection by serum plate agglutination test (SPA). The incidence of PD-FT infection in GPS flocks and PS flocks were 0% and 15.7%, respectively. Especially PS flocks infected with PD-FT showed age dependent patterns that 22.2% of flocks between 20 to 30 weeks of age and 38.9% of flocks between 30 to 40 weeks of age were positive. The incidence of GPS flocks and PS flocks using Salmonella (S.) gallinarum 9R (SG9R) live vaccine were 33.3% and 58.6%, respectively. The sero-positive rate of 11 flocks were 6.7-83.3% by SPA and 2.9-55.6% by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and ELISA showed more lower antibody levels than SPA. Furthermore, specific antibodies produced by SG9R vaccination were detectable by SPA using SG9R antigen without cross-reaction with the PD-FT infection.