• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2012

The association of verotoxic E. coli and Acinetobacter spp. with various antibiotic-resistant, diarrhogenic, and nosocomial infections has been a cause for concern worldwide. E. coli and A. haemolyticus isolated on a number of selective media were screened for virulence factors, antibiotic resistance, and transformation of resistance genes. Out of 69 E. coli isolates obtained, 25 (35.23%), 14 (20.30%), and 28 (40.58%) were positive for Vtx1&2, Vtx1, and Vtx2, respectively, 49 (71.015%) for extendedspectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), 34 (49.28%) for serum resistance, 57 (82.61%) for cell surface hydrophobicity, 48 (69.57%) for gelatinase production, and 37 (53.62%) for hemolysin production. For the 14 A. haemolyticus isolates, only 2 (14.29%) in each case from all the samples investigated were positive for Vtx1, Vtx2 and Vtx1&2 respectively, 8 (57.14%) for ESBLs, 7 (50.00%) for serum resistance, 11 (78.57%) for cell surface hydrophobicity, 4 (28.57%) for gelatinase production, and 8 (57.14%) for hemolysin production. Although transformation occurred among the E. coli and Acinetobacter isolates (transformation frequency: $13.3{\times}10^{-7}-53.4^{-7}$), there was poor curing of the plasmid genes, a confirmation of the presence of stable antibiotic-resistant genes (DNA concentration between 42.7 and 123.8 ${\mu}g$) and intragenetic transfer of multidrug-resistant genes among the isolates. The isolates were potentially virulent and contained potentially transferable antibiotic resistance genes. Detection of virulence factors, antibiotic resistance genes, and transformation among these isolates is a very significant outcome that will influence approaches to proactive preventive and control measures and future investigations. However, continued surveillance for drug resistance among these bacteria and further investigation of the mechanism of action of their virulence factors are a necessity.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2013

This study was conducted to investigate antibiotic resistance among Salmonella Typhimurium isolates from diseased pigs in Gyeongbuk province during the period 1998~2011. One hundred forty one isolates were tested for antibiotic resistance using the standard disk diffusion method and were examined for presence of resistance gene by PCR method. S. Typhimurium showed high drug resistance rates to tetracycline (95.7%), streptomycin (93.6%), ampicillin (86.5%), cephalothin (80.1%), gentamicin (79.4%), and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (72.3%). Resistance gene, blaTEM, blaPSE1, tetA, tetB, tetG, sul1, sul2, aadA, strA, grm, and temA were detected among the antibiotic resistance isolates and temB, tetC, aadB gene were not detected. One hundred twenty one (89.6%) tetA, two (1.5%) tetB and one (0.7%) tetG gene were detected in the 135 tetracycline resistant isolates. Two (1.6%) temA gene were detected in one hundred twenty two ampicillin resistance isolates and temB was not detected.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.581-586
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• 2018

Enterococcus spp. have been considered major indicator organisms for antibiotic resistance due to their ability to easily acquire and to harbor antibiotic resistance. In this study, Enterococcus spp. were isolated from 174 retail fresh-cut products (fresh vegetable salads, microgreens, and sprouts) in Korea. Among the 20 Enterococcus isolates obtained, 18 (90.0%) were Enterococcus faecalis and 2 (10.0%) were Enterococcus faecium. The patterns of antibiotic resistance against nine antimicrobials were analyzed. Most of the isolates (85.0%) were resistant to quinupristin/dalfopristin, 40.0% and 50.0% of the isolates showed intermediate resistance to two critically important antimicrobials for human medicine, ciprofloxacin and erythromycin, respectively. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci were not detected in this study. Given the importance of antimicrobial resistance of enterococci in food safety as well as in public health, our results regarding the occurrence (level of contamination) and antimicrobial resistance of Enterococcus spp. could provide useful information that aids the risk analysis of antibiotic resistance.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.164-168
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• 2007

To investigate natural antibiotics from plant essential oils and to evaluate their synergism with current antimicrobial drugs in inhibiting antibiotic-resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of eleven plant essential oils and their main components were established for two antibiotic-susceptible and two antibiotic-resistant strains of S. pneumoniae, using broth microdilution tests. Potential synergism with oxacillin, norfloxacin, or erythromycin was evaluated using a checkerboard microtitre assay. Among the tested oils, Mentha piperita oil and its main component, menthol, exhibited the strongest inhibitory activities against all of the tested strains. The activity of antibiotics against antibiotic-resistant strains of S. pneumoniae was enhanced significantly by combination with Mentha piperita oils and its main component, menthol. In conclusion, the combination Mentha piperita essential oil or menthol with antibiotics could be used to reduce the effective dose of antibiotic and to modulate the resistance of S. pneumoniae strains.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.113-118
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• 2019

Inappropriate antibiotic use is the most important factor causing increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics, thus affecting patient outcomes. Multidrug-resistant bacteria have become a serious public health threat, causing significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. In Korea, the burden of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has become an important public health issue. There is increasing evidence of overuse and misuse of antibiotics in Korea, as observed in cohorts with large sample sizes. Antibiotic use among children should receive particular attention because of the frequency of community-associated infections among this population and the elevated risk of transmission. Recent studies from Korea have demonstrated that the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, either for inpatient or outpatient treatment, has increased among many age groups, especially children. In this review, we aim to describe the patterns of antibiotic prescription and evaluate recent trends in antibiotic use among children. Coordinated efforts toward communication and education in order to address misunderstandings regarding antibiotic use, involving interprofessional antimicrobial stewardship programs, are required in the near future.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.195-200
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• 2009

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) is an important bacterial pathogen of chickens and causes colibacillosis such as airsacculitis, perihepatitis, omphalitis, peritonitis, salpingitis, and pericarditis. As the transfer of antibiotic resistance from animal to humans can be possible, surveillance on antibiotic resistance of APEC is very important. A total 34 APEC isolates from diseased chickens during the period from 2007 to 2009 were obtained. The susceptibility of the isolates to 13 antibiotics was determined by disc diffusion assay. Resistance to erythromycin was found in 97.1% of APEC isolated, followed by resistance to tetracycline (85.3%), doxycycline (82.3%), ampicillin (73.5%), sulfisoxazole (67.6%), enrofloxacin (67.6%), ciprofloxacin (64.7%), norfloxacin (61.7%) trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (52.9%), gentamycin (26.5%), amoxicillin (8.8%), colistin (5.9%), and amikacin (2.9%). The blaTEM genes were detected in 25 (100%) of the 25 ampicillin-resistant APEC isolates. Among the 29 tetracycline-resistant APEC isolates, tetA and tetB genes were detected in 18 (62.1%) and 9 (31%) isolates, respectively. Twenty six (76.5%) isolates were multiresistant to at least 6 antibiotics and seven (20.1%) isolates were multiresistant to at least 10 antibiotics. This results indicated that multiple antibiotic-resistant APEC is widespread in chicken flocks in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.189-195
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• 2017

The isolation rate of Escherichia (E.) coli in poultry litter was investigated at 44 broiler farms, 20 that used fresh litter and 24 that used recycled litter. The patterns of resistance to antibiotics of the E. coli isolates were compared. In litter sampled before the rearing period, the isolation rate of E. coli was higher at farms that used fresh litter; E. coli was present in the litter in 94.5% (35 out of 37 flocks tested) of the farms that used fresh litter vs. 51.2% (21 out of 41 flocks) of the farms that used recycled litter. The susceptibility of the 93 isolates of E. coli to 13 antibiotics was studied. Before the rearing period, E. coli isolates from the farms that recycled litter showed higher resistance rates than isolates from farms that replaced litter with fresh litter. Comparing the antibiotic resistance patterns of isolates from litter sampled before and at the end of the rearing period, the antibiotic resistance rates at the end of the rearing period increased dramatically compared with rates before the rearing period.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.179-183
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• 2005

Epidemiological characteristics of a total of 48 swine herd with diarrhea or a history of diarrhea in Gyeongsang-do between 1999 and 2000 were performed to evaluate the prevalence of Salmonella spp., their serotypes and antibiotic resistance patterns with respect to the different stages of swine production system. A total of 139 Salmonella spp. (21%) were isolated from 662 fecal samples and the overall herd prevalence of Salmonella spp. ranged from 12.5% to 88%. The average prevalence of Salmonella spp. from swine stages of suckling/nursery, grow/finisher and sow stage were 25.7%, 19.2% and 18.4%, respectively. Ten serotypes of Salmonella spp. were identified with a predominance of S. Typhimurium, S. Derby and S. Agona. Twenty-five isolates (18%) were found to be untypable. One hundred and two Salmonella isolates (73.4%) resistant to more than 1 antibiotic were characterized by 24 diverse resistance patterns, and their frequency of antibiotic resistance was highest in grow/finisher stage (83.3%). Resistance to tetracycline (TE; 67.6%), sulfamethoxazole (SU; 46.8%) and streptomycin (ST; 28%) was most common and the most common resistance patterns were TE SU (31.4%), TE (21.6%) and TE SU ST (20.6%) in order.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.232-239
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• 2009

This research investigated the characteristics of antibiotic resistance of bacteria in microbial communities from municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs), and monitored seasonal changes of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) from MWTPs and Han river. When antibiotics were amended to either R2A agar (R2A) for general heterotrophs or MacConeky sorbitol agar (MSA) for coliform bacteria, all the MWTP samples exhibited multiple antibiotic resistance on the antibiotic-amended solid media. The antibiotic resistance appearing frequencies of ampicillin and sulfathiazole, respectively, were higher than reported data for other countries. The antibiotic resistance appearances differed depending upon the concentrations of primary substrate and nutrients and the types of cultivation media. The following 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis showed that the identified multiple-antibiotic resistant microbes on R2A plates were more likely to be known human-pathogenic bacteria than the background heterotrophic bacteria were, suggesting a high risk of antibiotic resistance appearance to public health. In addition, according to our investigation of seasonal changes of ARB from urban MWTP and river samples, the frequency of ARB appearances was shown to correlate positively with temperature. This indicates a possibility that global warming result in increase in microbial risk to public health.

• Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.325-333
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of IMP and OXA genes in clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) that are carriers of the ampC gene. Methods: In this study, 105 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa were collected. Antibiotic resistance patterns were determined using the disk diffusion method. The strains carrying AmpC enzymes were characterized by a combination disk method. Multiplex-PCR was used to identify resistance and virulence genes, chi-square test was used to determine the relationship between variables. Results: Among 105 isolates of P. aeruginosa, the highest antibiotic resistance was to cefotaxime and aztreonam, and the least resistance was to colictin and ceftazidime. There were 49 isolates (46.66%) that showed an AmpC phenotype. In addition, the frequencies of the resistance genes were; OXA48 gene 85.2%, OXA199, 139 3.8%, OXA23 3.8%, OXA2 66.6%, OXA10 3.8%, OXA51 85.2% and OXA58 3.8%. The IMP27 gene was detected in 9 isolates (8.57%) and the IMP3.34 was detected in 11 isolates (10.47%). Other genes detected included; lasR (17.1%), lasB (18%) and lasA (26.6%). There was a significant relationship between virulence factors and the OX and IMP genes ($p{\leq}0.05$). Conclusion: The relationship between antibiotic resistance and virulence factors observed in this study could play an important role in outbreaks associated with P. aeruginosa infections.