• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.586-597
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• 1999

Background: Many diagnostic tests have developed to diagnose tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases but the diagnosis of tuberculosis relies largely on radiological findings and acid-fast staining of sputum and/or culture. Recently, new serologic diagnostic methods, which are safe and easy to use have been introduced into Korea. In this study, the usefulness of serologic diagnosis for tuberculosis and the disease pattern induced variation of the test were evaluated. Methods: Serological assay was performed upon 108 patients with two test kits, the ICT tuberculosis and the BioSign$^{TM}$TB, which are based upon a rapid immunochromatographic assay technique, capable of being interpreted within 15 minutes. The case groups consisted of 61 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis(36 patients), extrapulmonary tuberculosis(3 patients), or both(22 patients). Control groups consisted of 47 patients with inactive old pulmonary tuberculosis(17 patients), nontuberculous pulmonary disease(16 patients) and nonpulmonary cardiac disease(14 patients). Results : The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value(PPV) and negative predictive value(NPV) of the ICT tuberculosis were 64.3%, 91.5%, 90.0% and 68.3% respectively. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of the BioSign$^{TM}$TB were 76.5%, 95.3%, 94.1 % and 78.8% respectively. Differences in sensitivity were not significant between patients with previous history of tuberculosis or patients without prior history of tuberculosis. The ICT tuberculosis test showed higher sensitivity in pulmonary tuberculosis patients(76.5%) than extrapulmonary tuberculosis patients(33.3%). There was no difference in sensitivity between patients with or without cavitary lesion by chest X-ray. Conclusion: Considering high specificity and PPV, serologic diagnosis using a rapid immunochromatographic assay device is another helpful diagnostic method in the diagnosis of tuberculosis, when combined with previous diagnostic methods such as chest X-ray, microbiologic study but it has limitation in terms of confirming the diagnosis for tuberculosis as the only diagnostic method because of relatively low sensitivity and NPV.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.473-480
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• 1999

Background: Early diagnosis of tuberculosis is critical, especially in Korea, an area where tuberculosis is endemic. Because antibody responses to some membrane proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are not comparable, and the policy of BCG vaccination and the prevalence of tuberculosis are different from country to country, the usefulness of the serological diagnostic tests is questionable in Korea, even though they have been confirmed to be useful in other countries. In the specific context of Korea, we tried to evaluate the validity of the ICT Tuberculosis Test (ICT), a membrane-based antibody kit that purports to detect the 5 M. tuberculosis complex-specific antigens including 38-kDa protein. Method: 68 patients with tuberculosis were tested : 37 had no history of previous tuberculosis, and 31 were reactivated cases. The control group comprised 77 subjects : 25 healthy adults, 35 hospital workers with frequent contact with tuberculosis patients, and 17 in-patients with non-tuberculous respiratory diseases. Results: The diagnostic sensitivities of the ICT were 87% and 73% in patients with versus without previous history of tuberculosis, respectively. The sensitivities of smear-positive and smear-negative patient groups were 81% and 73%, respectively. Both of the two patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis tested positive through the ICT. The specificities of the ICT were 88%, 94%, and 94% in healthy adults, hospital workers, and non-tuberculous patients, respectively, with an overall specificity of 92%. Conclusion: It is suggested that when combined with traditional techniques, the ICT is an useful tool for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. The procedure is simple, easy to perform, rapid, and needs no equipment. It shows 73% sensitivity and 92% specificity for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.53-53
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• 1961

During the period from 1956 to 1959, a serological survey was conducted in au effort to assessing the incidence of brucellosis in various domestic animals in Korea. The following results were obtained. 1. Seventy-six dairy cattle which were imported in the year of 1956 had 9 positive reactors (11.84%). Of 1127 goats imported in 1956 and 1958, eleven(0.98%) were reactor animals. 2. In 1956, of 108 dairy cattle tested 10(9.25%) were reactors. In 1937 and 1958, a total of 155 dairy cattle examined hid ten (6.45%) positive reactors. In 1959, of 127 dairy cattle examined two were reactor animals. 3. In 1958 and 1959, 432 goats in some districts in Korea were subject to test for brucellosis and the test revealed five (1.15%) reactors. In 1958, 683 swine serum samples were examined and eleven (1.04%) were positive. In 1959, 1133 Korean cattle were tested and seven samples (0.64%) showed positive reactions. 4. In the month of July in 1939, 580 beef cattle in Cheju National Ranch and Branch were examined and 111 (19.13%) were found to be reactors. In October of the same year, 157 cattle, consisting of reactor and suspicious cattle groups, were tested, of which 71 samples reacted positive and 47 remained suspicious. 5. In December of the year of 1958, there occurred. an outbreak of brucellosis in a swine herd in the Sachon Branch Experimental Station. Seven serological tests on 438 swine serum samples were conducted, of which 122 (27.87%) were found positive. 6. Dairy cattle No. 33 and No. 35 which had been imported in 1956 and detected as highly positive, were examined for a prolonged period to follow the variation of antibody titers. A marked drop in antibody titer was seen two months after the initial test while the re-increase in titer was observer our months after the first examination.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.318-322
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• 2014

Chlamydophila pneumonia is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia throughout the world. It causes mild pneumonia or bronchitis in adolescents and young adults. Older adults may experience more severe disease and repeated infections. To the best of our knowledge, no study has attempted to investigate the prevalence of C. pneumonia in a closed community in Korea. We compared the infection rate of C. pneumonia among university dormitory residents using the miro-immunofluorescence (MIF) method. Antibody titers of IgG (1:32 or more) indicate past infection of C. pneumonia. A recent infection was defined as serum with a high titer of IgG (1:512 or more) or a positive IgM (1:16 or more). The past infection rate of C. pneumonia among the university dormitory residents was 71.7%. The recent infection rate of C. pneumonia according to IgG and IgM titers was 28.3% and 23.3%, respectively. The past infection positive rate according to the number of residence months was 1 month (50%), 7 months (71.4%), 13 months (66.7%), and 35 months (89.5%). The recent infection positive rate according to IgG antibody titers was 1 month (50%), 7 months (28.6%), 13 months (33.3%), and 35 months (10.5%). The recent infection rate of C. pneumonia according to IgM antibody titers was 1 month (41.7%), 7 months (28.6%), 13 months (26.7%), and 35 months (5.3%). The results suggest that the past infection rate of C. pneumonia is increased by the number of residence months in a closed community and that the recent infection rate of C. pneumonia according to IgG and IgM serological tests is decreased by the number of residence months.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.269-275
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• 1999

Background : In April 6, 1990, a male researcher who has worked at a research unit at the Basic Research Building of Seoul National University(SNU) College of Medicine admitted to SNU Hospital due to persistent fever. He was diagnosed serologically as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS). Another female researcher in the same unit was also diagnosed as HFRS at the same hospital several days later. Epidemic investigation of HFRS was conducted to determine the magnitude of the problems since these two cases were strongly suspected to have laboratory-acquired infections of HFRS. Methods : All researchers and employees working at the Basic Research Building(BRB) of SNU College of Medicine as of April 1, 1996 were recruited for the study, information on symptoms of HFRS and history of contact to experimental animals were collected by self-administered questionnaires and serological tests among study subjects were also conducted by indirect immunofluorescent antibody(IFA) to hantavirus. The experimental animals were also serologically tested for infection with hantavirus by IFA. Results : Among 218 surveyed, six researchers and an animal caretaker had hantavirus antibodies above 1:20 in IFA titer. Five of seven sero-positive subjects had antibodies above 1:640 in IFA titer and had shown clinical symptoms compatible to HFRS during Jan. 1 to Apr, 20, 1996. The sero-positive persons had handled animals more frequently than sero-negative persons (OR, 19,68; 95% Cl, 1.11-350.40) and handling animals at the animal quarter at School of Public Health(SPH) had shown consistently higher risk to get infected with hantavirus irrespective of types of animals handled (OR, 4.90-6.37). Sero-positivity of rats of the aniamal quarter at BRB was 30-60%, whereas 80% of rats at SPH tested were shown sero-positivity. Conclusion: There was a epidemic of HFRS in research units of a medical school during the period from Jan. through Apr, Further investigation is needed to determine the extent and the mode of transmission of the laboratory-acquired infection with hantavirus in other research facilities.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.239-246
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• 2013

Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance and multidrug resistance patterns have been studied with a total of 189 samples of Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium isolated from diarrhea patients in Incheon from 2008 to 2012. Methods: Antimicrobial resistance tests were determined by Disc Diffusion method. Results: The serological distribution of Salmonella spp. showed 108 strains (30.1%) of S. Enteritidis, 81 strains (22.6%) of S. Typhimirium, eight strains (8.0%) of S. Typhi, 11 strains ( 3.1% ) of S. Paratyphi, and the 151 other strains (42.1%). The separation rate of Salmonella spp. by year showed 14.5% (52 strains) in 2008, 13.6% (49 strains) in 2009, 22.8% (82 strains) in 2010, 25.3% (91 strains) in 2011, and 23.7% (85 strains) in 2012. Additionally, the separation rate of S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimirium in 2010 was the highest. The Salmonella spp. isolated from diarrhea patients showed significant differences according to age (p<0.05), gender (p<0.01) and medical institution (p<0.05). The highest resistance was found to the following antimicrobial agents: imipenem 77 strains, ampicillin 47 strains, ciprofloxacin 34 strains, nalidixic acid 29 strains for S. Enteritidis, and ampicillin 45 strains, nalidixic acid 45 strains for S. Typhimurium. Separated S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium resistance to the antibiotics by the year showed significant differences (p<0.05). The patterns of multidrug resistance rates were 43.1% (47 strains) for one drug, 8.3% (9 strains) for two drugs, 11.0% (12 strains) for three drugs, 15.62% (17 strains) for four drugs, and 13.7% (15 strains) for five or more drugs for S. Enteritidis. For S. Tyhpimurium, the rates were 15.0% (12 strains) for one drug, 10.0% (8 strains) for two drugs, 6.3% (five strains) for three drugs, 18.7% (15 strains) for four drugs, and 23.8% (19 strains) for five or more drugs. Conclusion: The antibiotic resistance issue is directly related to people's lives. Thus, the usage of antibiotics should be reduced in order to manage antibiotic resistance.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.21 no.1 s.23
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• pp.31-46
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• 1988

In order to designate a present status necessary for establishment of preventive measures and guidelines of health education against hepatitis B in the course of secondary school education, knowledge and practice toward hepatitis B virus infection was surveyed by a questionnare method on total of 4,855 college entrants in the academic year of 1987 and analyzed the data collected using IBM PC(Trigem 88-II) with SAS package program. About two per cent of college entrants had past history of HBV infections not showing any difference between both sexes and geographical regions. About one third(33.7%) of total students had tested hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg), only 4% had tested hepatitis B surface antibody(HBsAb) and vaccination rate amounted to 24.6%, one fourth of total subjects. Both serological tests and vaccination were most commonly performed during adolescence, showing higher rates in female students than in male students. The rates also seemed to be higher in those from urban cities than those from rural cities. Students who had acquired correct knowledge that hepatitis B was infected by virus were amounted to 78.5% of college entrants, and remaining 21.5% had misunderstood that rickettsia, bacteria, fungi or parasites were causal agents. Female students were better aware of the causal agents than male students but there was no difference between places of growth. As for mode of transmission of HBV, 51.5% of male students and 47.7% of female students had correct knowledge. A very few student had known that fact that HBV was transmitted by body fluids such as tear(6.9%), nasal discharge(10.1%) and semen or vaginal secretion(19.2%) and majority(75%) of students had misunderstood that hepatitis B virus would be transmitted per os through food ingestion. Approximately one half(48.9%) of college entrants had knew correctly whom to be vaccinated. Approximately one half of the students knew that hepatr;ma(57.8%) and liver cirrhosis(57.4%) might complicate with hepatitis B virus infection, whereas 12.0% of the students responded that bronchitis was one of the complications of hepatitis B infection. In summary of the above results, we highly recommend that health education program for eradication of hepatitis B virus infection should be introduced in curricula of secondary school education in this country.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.323-333
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• 2000

Objectives : Chronic HBsAg carriers are the principal source of infection for other susceptible people, and are themselves at high risk of developing serious liver diseases. In Korea, it has been estimated that 65-75% of the HBsAg positives remained as persistent carriers. Additionally, familial clustering of MBV infection has frequently been observed among carriers. Some would become progressive, chronic hepatitis patients, and others would not. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between various factors, such as the duration of infection, type of virus, mutation of precore/core region in HBV, major histocompatibility class-I, and developing chronic liver diseases among familial HBV carriers. Methods : Chronic carrier status was identified by repeated serological tests for HBsAg at intervals of six months or more. A familial chronic carrier was defined when the disease was observed in a family member over two generations. Two families were recruited, among which a total of 20 chronic HBsAg carriers(11 carriers in No.1, and 9 in No.2 family) were identified. Data on the general characteristics and liver disease status were collected. Identification of the HBV-DNA was successful only for 13 subjects among the 20 carriers. Analysis of viral DNA in terms of subtype, pre-core and core region mutations was carried out. The type of major histocompatibility class-1 for the 13 subjects was also analysed. Results & Conclusions : Seven of 10 chronic HBV carriers of the 1st generation and one of 10 of the 2nd generation were clinical patients with chronic hepatitis, the others, three of the 1 st and nine of the 2nd generation, were asymptomatic carriers. This data indicates that the duration of HBV carriage is one of the major factors for disease severity. The subtype of HBsAg analysed using MBV-DNA identified in 13 carriers were adr, and the pattern of precore nonsense mutation in HBV-DNA was identical among family members, which meads that the same virus strains were transmitted between the family members. The association between the precore or core mutations in HBV-DNA and the disease severity was not observed. While it was suggested that a specific type of MHC class-I may be related to disease progression.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.1 no.1 s.1
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• pp.69-79
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• 1986

This studies were carried out to investigate the high infection sites from various specimens, cultural isolation on the susceptible media and specific antibody titres of M. pulmonis in experimental 310 mice and 330 rats obtained from two breeding facilities. Efficiency of complement faxation test (CF test) for detection of M. pulmonis antibody in mice and rats were compared directly with the diagnostic cultural isolation method. 1. Isolation rates of M. pulmonis among infection sites were about 30% from the oral cavities and $40\%$ from the middle ear of mice. The rates were $100\%$from the nasal cavaties and $90\%$ from the oral cavities of rats. 2. The infection rates were $12\%$ to A group and $16\%$ to B group of mice. The rates in the rats were $55\%$ to A group and $70\%$ to B group. 3. The M. pulmonis antibody titres by CF test were $73\%$ of total 100 mice in serum dilution below 1:5 (< 1:5), and $24\%$ of total samples in antibody titres above 1:5 (> 1:5), but 3 samples were not showed anticomplementary activities. The antibody titres in rats were $35\%$ of 120 rats in below 1:5 (< 1:5), and $61\%$ of total samples in above 1:5 (> 1:5), but the remained were not showed anticomplementary activities.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.223-229
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• 1996

HLA-B27 gene, one of the HLA-class I molecule, is strongly associated with ankylosing spondylitis. It has been most frequently used as a disease-correlated HLA gene by clinicians. In most laboratories, conventional HLA-B27 typing is still performed by cell cytotoxicity tests or fluorescence serology with specific antibodies. In this study, DNA typing method for HLA-B27 was developed by using group specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Four HLA-B27 cell lines (HOM-2, JESTHOM, WT24 and BTB) and fifty six B27 Korean individuals defined by serology were used. The results of control cell and B-27 positive individual samples were correlated well with the data which was performed by serological method. All of B27 positive PCR products gave positive signals on Southern blot hybridization with B27 specific probe. This study shows that the HLA-B27 DNA typing is a relatively simple, fast and practical tool for the determination of the HLA-B27 gene in routine clinical laboratory work.