• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.34 no.8
• /
• pp.1477-1482
• /
• 2004

Purpose. With the continuous spread of the AIDS virus and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) throughout Asia, it has become imperative for HIV/AIDS prevention outreach programs to stress the need for using prophylactics as one form of protection. This is particularly true for commercial sex workers. This pilot study was conducted to investigate the rate of condom use among the commercial sex workers in Korea and reasons why they frequently do not wear condoms during sexual intercourse. Methods. Fifty female commercial sex workers who worked in the Yong San area were recruited while outreach was performed and forty eight responses were analyzed due to two incomplete questionnaires. The data were collected on June 28, 2004 as part of an outreach program for condom use promotion. Results. The subjects ranged in age from 21 to 45 years. Nearly half of the subjects ($47.9\%$) did not consistently use condoms. The major reason for not using protection was clients' reluctances for using condoms. When condoms were used, the subjects preferred lubricant-rich and less painful condom during intercourse. Conclusion. Due to the inconsistent use of condoms, it is clear that many commercial sex workers and clients are susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases. Therefore, it is important to not only educate commercial sex workers, but also to educate their pimps and clientele about the importance of condom use. In general, it is recommended that practical strategies and a policy for condom use promotion be developed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.350-354
• /
• 2008

In order to investigate the prevalence of sexually transmitted viruses such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) in Korean commercial sex workers (CSWs), we selected 188 CSWs (age range 20-44 years, median age 24 years) who regularly visited one public health center in Seoul, Korea. HPV genotypes were analyzed by using a HPV DNA Chip, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect type-specific IgG against HSV2 antibody identifying seropositivity for HSV2 infection. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed with specific primers to detect HPV and HSV1/2 in cervical swabs from the CSWs. The prevalence of HPV infection was 83.5% in 188 cervical swab specimens and the main high-risk HPV genotypes were HPV16, 18, 56, and 58. The principal low-risk HPV genotypes were HPV6 and 11. The prevalence of HSV1/2 DNA was 13.8% and HSV2 seroprevalence was 86.2%. These results suggest that high frequencies of HPV and HSV2 infection might contribute to the rapid spread of STD viruses in CSWs in Korea. Additionally, an understanding of why high-risk HPV genotypes are so prevalent could provide guidelines for prophylactic vaccine development in Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.29 no.2 s.53
• /
• pp.331-346
• /
• 1996

Exploring the epidemiological trend of HIV/AIDS is required for making the national AIDS policy. In this study, the trend of HIV/AIDS incidence, rout of transmission and some characteristics of AIDS for the past 11 years in Korea using the reported cases from the national STD screening scheme were reviewed. Based on the results, the trend of main route of transmission according to the year was established by stage and the HIV/AIDS cases in this year was estimated and that to the year 2000 was projected by 'Epimodel' programme. The results were as follows : 1. Of the total infected persons, 76% were in their twenties and thirties, socioeconomically and sexually active age groups. While the transmission by sexual contact overseas was decreasing, the infection through domestic heterosexual and homosexual contact was increasing. 2. In the middle of the 1980's, the infected persons were mainly prostitutes infected through heterosexual contact with the HIV positive foreigner in this county(stage 1). And in the late of the 1980's the main source of infection was the sexual contact overseas and the domestic heterosexual contact(stage 2). Since the early of the 1990's, the infection through the heterosexual contact with non-regular sexual partner in this country has increased rapidly(stage 3), which was the evidence of the possibility of HIV epidemics. After that, it was expected that the infection through the homosexual contacts, the heterosexual contacts with commercial sex workers outside and the non-regular sexual contact inside of this country would increase continuously. In the result, the occurrence of neonatal infection by vertical transmission was expected(stage4). 3. The number of HIV/AIDS was estimated at 572 to 2,313 and the projected number of HIV/AIDS to the you 2000 was around 5,800 including 627 AIDS patients. For the further study on the estimation and projection of HIV/AIDS, it was suggested that the sampling survey on the HIV infection rate in the high risk groups and the sentinel hospital surveillance system should be conducted.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.109-119
• /
• 1989

We measured fasting serum angiotensin -converting enzyme (SACE) in 100 healthy controls and 75 coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) patients by a commercial kits($ACEcolor^{(R)}$, Fujirio Inc., Japan) and evaluated this manual method. The linear range extends to an activity of 80U/L. Precision on a commercial control serum (ACE control-$N^{(R)}$, Sigma Co.)with a mean value, of 9.47U/L yielded a within-run and between-run CVs are 5.6% (N=15) and 6.9% (N=14) respectively. SAVE in 75 CWP was $20.3{\pm}5.7U/L$ ($mean{\pm}s.d.$) ; higher than in healthy controls ($13.4{\pm}3.9U/L$, P<0.01). No correlation was found between SACE, sex, and age. The results suggest that the measurement of SACE and follow-up SACE in coal workers may be a useful diagnostic fools for CWP.