• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.70-74
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• 2010

저자들은 닭 간을 생식한 가족에서 복통, 기침, 미열두통 등 동일한 임상증상과 심한 호산구 증가증을 보여면역혈청학적 검사를 통해 진단한 개회충에 의한 내장유충 이행증 1예를 경험하였기에 보고하는 바이다.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제53권1호
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• pp.51-58
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• 2015

Toxocariasis is a soil-transmitted helminthozoonosis due to infection of humans by larvae of Toxocara canis. The disease could produce cognitive and behavioral disturbances especially in children. Meanwhile, in our modern era, the incidence of immunosuppression has been progressively increasing due to increased incidence of malignancy as well as increased use of immunosuppressive agents. The present study aimed at comparing some of the pathological and immunological alterations in the brain of normal and immunosuppressed mice experimentally infected with T. canis. Therefore, 180 Swiss albino mice were divided into 4 groups including normal (control) group, immunocompetent T. canis-infected group, immunosuppressed group (control), and immunosuppressed infected group. Infected mice were subjected to larval counts in the brain, and the brains from all mice were assessed for histopathological changes, astrogliosis, and IL-5 mRNA expression levels in brain tissues. The results showed that under immunosuppression, there were significant increase in brain larval counts, significant enhancement of reactive gliosis, and significant reduction in IL-5 mRNA expression. All these changes were maximal in the chronic stage of infection. In conclusion, the immunopathological alterations in the brains of infected animals were progressive over time, and were exaggerated under the effect of immunosuppression as did the intensity of cerebral infection.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제53권2호
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• pp.243-246
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• 2015

At present, more than 500,000 foreigner workers, most of them from Asian countries with high parasitic infection rates, are working in Korea. Since investigation into the prevalence of parasitic infections in foreigner workers has not yet been conducted in Korea, the present study was performed to determine the parasitic infection status of foreigner workers living in Cheonan City, Chungcheongnam-do (Chungnam Province) and to plan, on that basis, effective control measures. From October to December 2013, the parasitic infection status of 231 foreigner workers employed at selected Cheonan-si small businesses was investigated by both stool examination and ELISA. A total of 60 individuals (26.0%) were found to be infected with parasites. The stool examination detected 14 positive cases (6.1%), and ELISA revealed 50 positive people (21.6%), for at least a kind of parasitic disease. The most common infection was cysticercosis (8.7%), followed by toxocariasis (7.8%) and clonorchiasis (7.4%). Since it was proved that parasitic infections were prevalent among foreigner workers living in Cheonan City, more comprehensive study is urgently needed in order to understand the nationwide status of parasitic infections in foreigner workers.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제64권11호
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• pp.575-581
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• 2021

Background: Toxocariasis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati in humans. Various types of T. canis are important. Purpose: The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Toxocara spp. in pediatrics in the context of a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: The MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Sciences, Embase, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health databases were searched to identify peer-reviewed studies published between January 2000 and December 2019 that report the prevalence of Toxocara spp. in pediatrics. The evaluation of articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria was performed by 2 researchers individually. Results: The results of 31 relevant studies indicated that the prevalence of Toxocara spp. was 3%-79% in 10,676 cases. The pooled estimate of global prevalence of Toxocara spp. in pediatrics was 30 (95% confidence interval, 22%-37%; I²=99.11%; P=0.00). The prevalence was higher in Asian populations than in European, American, and African populations. Conclusion: Health policymakers should be more attentive to future research and approaches to Toxocara spp. and other zoonotic diseases to improve culture and identify socioeconomically important factors.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제59권3호
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• pp.227-233
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• 2021

Eosinophilic meningitis is defined as the presence of more than 10 eosinophils per µl in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), or eosinophils accounting for more than 10% of CSF leukocytes in patients with acute meningitis. Parasites are the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis worldwide, but there is limited research on patients in Korea. Patients diagnosed with eosinophilic meningitis between January 2004 and June 2018 at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea were retrospectively reviewed. The etiology and clinical characteristics of each patient were identified. Of the 22 patients included in the study, 11 (50%) had parasitic causes, of whom 8 (36%) were diagnosed as neurocysticercosis and 3 (14%) as Toxocara meningitis. Four (18%) patients were diagnosed with fungal meningitis, and underlying immunodeficiency was found in 2 of these patients. The etiology of another 4 (18%) patients was suspected to be tuberculosis, which is endemic in Korea. Viral and bacterial meningitis were relatively rare causes of eosinophilic meningitis, accounting for 2 (9%) and 1 (5%) patients, respectively. One patient with neurocysticercosis and 1 patient with fungal meningitis died, and 5 (23%) had neurologic sequelae. Parasite infections, especially neurocysticercosis and toxocariasis, were the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in Korean patients. Fungal meningitis, while relatively rare, is often aggressive and must be considered when searching for the cause of eosinophilic meningitis.

• 농촌의학ㆍ지역보건
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.275-285
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• 1998

간흡충(Clonorchis sinensis), 폐흡충(Paragonimus westermani), 스팔가눔(sparganum), 뇌낭미충(Cysticercus cellulosae), 아니사키스(Anisakis spp.), 선모충(Trichinella spiralis), 개화충(Toxocara canis)에 대한 IgG항체반응을 ELISA를 이용하여 연변지역주민의 혈청역학적 조사를 시행하고 그 결과를 PC-SAS 시스템으로 통계분석하여 다음과 같은 결과를 얻었다. 1995년 10월부터 1997년 6월 사이에 수집된 총 975명의 혈청에 대한 검사결과 23.87%에서 한 종류이상의 혈청항체 양상을 나타내였다. 이중 간흡충증은 5.74%, 폐흡충증은 4.92%, 낭미충증은 1.54%, 스팔가눔증은 8.51%, 아니사키스증은 1.85%, 개회충증은 12.51%, 선모충증은 7.08%의 혈청항체 양성률을 나타내었다. 판정된 양성혈청을 통계분석한 결과 간흡충(p<0.01), 혜흡충(p<0.01), 아니사키스(p<0.05), 개회충(p<0.01), 선모충(p<0.01)의 각 연령그룹비교에서 통계학적으로 유의한 차이를 나타내었고 스팔가눔증은 성별 사이에 유의한 차이가 보였다(p<0.05). 간흡충과 폐흡충은 50대 연령층에서 높은 양성항체가를 나타내는 반면 개회충과 선모충은 20대에서 높은 항체가를 보여주었다. 또한 내과질병으로 않고 있는 환자혈청은 낭미충증을 제외한 6종류 윤충류에서 정상대조인과 비교하여 볼 때 모두 통계학적으로 유의한 차이를 나타내었다(p<0.05 혹은 p<0.01). 즉 환자가 정상대조인보다 혈청양성률이 훨씬 높았다. 이상의 결과는 물론 선충사이의 교차반응이 있을거라고 추측되며 정확한 진단을 위해서는 EITB를 시행해야 한다고 생각한다. 이번 조사는 중국 연변에서 처음으로 되는 혈청역학조사이며 앞으로 기생충진환 퇴치대책에 아주 중요한 기초자료가 될 수 있을 것으로 생각한다.