• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.36-48
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• 2010

Purpose : In children on anticancer chemotherapy, bloodstream infections (BSIs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We investigated febrile episodes and bloodstream infections in pediatric cancer patients to guide proper selection of empiric antibiotics for febrile pediatric hemato-oncologic patients. Methods : All febrile episodes treated in the division of hematology-oncology, the department of pediatrics, Hanyang University Hospital, between July 2005 and June 2008 were reviewed. Episodes with and without bloodstream infections were compared. Results : Forty cases (18.9%, 25 patients) of BSI occurred in 212 febrile episodes (63 patients). Thirty-seven cases (23.6%, 22 patients) of BSI occurred in 157 febrile episodes with neutropenia (54 patients). Microorganisms identified in BSI corresponded to 23 gram-positive bacteria (51.2%), 20 gram-negative bacteria (44.5%), and 2 fungi (4.4%). Rates of BSI between those who had received umbilical cord blood transplantation and those who had received transplantation from other source were significantly different (55.0% vs. 7.7%, P =0.001). No differences in mortality rate were observed among organisms in BSI patients. For febrile episodes the rate of BSI was higher among those with Chemoport than those with Hickman catheter (P =0.029) and gram-positive pathogens were more likely to be associated with Chemoport (P =0.001). Conclusion : The study showed the rate of BSI, distribution of pathogens with regard to neutropenia, transplantation, central venous catheters, and antimicrobial susceptibility of pathogens in order to help guide in the choice of optimal empiric antibiotics in pediatric febrile neutropenic hemato-oncologic patients.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2002

To develop a new method of conjugation and to determine the distribution of R plasimds, we isolated multi-drug resistant strains from fish pathogenic bacteria in the farms of south and east seacoasts of Korea. Out of the 134 isolates examined, 10 showed resistance to chloramphenicol, tetracycline, streptomycin, ampicillin, colistin, nalidixic acid, oxolinic acid and kanamycin. One out of 10 multi-drug resistance bacteria, Vibfio damsela JE1 (V. damsela JE1), contained transferable R plasmid of chlorarnphenicol- tetracycline resistance genes and other nucleic acids encoding ampicillin and kanamycin resistance. The presence of the R plasmid was confirmed by conjugation using the chromocult medium (CC) as a selective and differential medium for transconiugants with identification based on the growth or colors of the colonies. The frequency of R plasmid transfer with filter mating method was come out much higher than that of broth mating method and appeared to be dependent upon the mating time and temperature. The optimum conditions for filter mating method were found to be 30$^{\circ}C$ and 24hrs as mating temperature and period, respectively, Moreover, donor cells with R plasmid, both isolate and standard bacteria, were shown to have an ability to transfer the plasmid against Escherichia coli K-12 HB101 (E. coli HB101) and Edwardsiella tarda (E. tarda) RE14 at fairly high frequencies, finally, we isolated 3 isolates of Sphingomonas sp., carrying R plasmid from 12 multi-drug resistant bacteria in normal microflora of the flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) group used for the isolation of V emsela JE1 four months before. The same size and gene transfer chayateristics of R plasimds with those of V damsela JE1 confirmed that normal microflora have the reservoir activity for R plasmid in natural aquatic environment.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.582-588
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• 2001

To control the growth of Salmonella on raw chicken supplied in food service, they were isolated and analysed for their physiological characteristics. Total viable microbe counts under the skin of the chicken amounted to 10% of numbers on their skin. Fifty one of Salmonella were isolated and identified from 75 chicken carcass samples. About 70% of the isolates showed resistance to more than four antibiotics, which indicated very high resistance among the strains ever reported in Korea. Lactic acid and trisodium phosphate(TSP) as sanitizing agent were applied to the Salmonella spp. isolates by agar diffusion method. The resistance by isolates to those sanitizing agents was compared with type strains of S. typhimurium ATCC 14028, S. typhimurium ATCC 12023, S. heidelberg and S. enteritidis. The isolates showed similar or less resistance to the type strains as for the lactic acid. However, as for trisodium phosphate known recently as a good sanitizer, 50% of the isolates showed more resistant compared with the type strains. Also, the treatment time and regeneration medium affected significantly the resistance of the isolates, which indicates that more careful test might be needed for TSP's practical application to raw chicken. Therefore, From the results, it is suggested that antibiotic treatment during breeding broiler and contamination after slaughtering should be minimized along with careful use of sanitizing agent in order to ensure more safe raw chicken supply.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.226-233
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• 2004

Background : Interferon-gamma (IFN-${\gamma}$) is a critical cytokine in the defense against a Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Even though IFN-${\gamma}$ has occasionally been used in the treatment of refractory multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) with some promising results, there is still some controversy regarding the therapeutic efficacy of IFN-${\gamma}$. This study was performed to examine the effect of subcutaneous IFN-${\gamma}$ in the treatment of MDR-TB patients. Methods : Six patients with refractory MDR-TB were enrolled in this study. Two million IU of IFN-${\gamma}$ was administered subcutaneously three times a week with the concomitant administration of antituberculous drugs for at least for 28 weeks. During the IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy, the sputum smear and culture, radiological and clinical evaluations were performed every 4 weeks throughout the study period. Results : The mean age of the 6 patients was 37 years (ranges, 15-61 years). The drug susceptibility test to standard antituberculous drugs revealed resistance to an average of 6.8 (${\pm}1.2$) agents including isoniazid and rifampicin. An average of 10.8 (${\pm}1.3$) antituberculous drugs were prescribed before IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy. The culture became negative in 2 patients (33%) after initiating IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy; one at 8 weeks, and the other at 24 weeks. Finally, after stopping the IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy after 28 weeks, the culture became positive again in the two patients who were culture-negative. The other 4 patients who failed in the culture conversion are still on antituberculous treatment except for one who died of tuberculosis. Conclusion : Even though 28 weeks of subcutaneous IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy in combination with antituberculous drugs was successful in inducing the culture-negative conversion in some patients with refractory MDR-TB, the culture became positive again after stopping the IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy. This suggests that subcutaneous IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy may have suppressive effect on tuberculosis only during the IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy period in some patients. Further studies will be needed to determine the optimum dose, the administration route, the duration of therapy, and the predicting factors of the response to adjuvant IFN-${\gamma}$ therapy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.492-498
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• 2007

Background: Several lines of evidence suggest that a host's genetic factors influence the outcome of exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether polymorphism in NRAMP1 (natural resistance associated macrophage protein 1) gene is associated with the susceptibility or resistance to tuberculosis infection for patients with drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis (DS-TB) and multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Methods: Eight genetic polymorphisms of the NRAMP1 gene were investigated in patients suffering with DS-TB (n=100) or MDR-TB (n=102), and in healthy normal controls (NC, n=96). The genetic polymorphisms of NRAMP1 were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results: The frequency of D543N A/G heterogygotes was significantly higher in the DS-TB subjects than the NCs (OR=2.10, 95% CI: 1.00 to 4.41, p=0.049). The frequency of 823C/T T/C heterozygotes was significantly higher in the DS-TB subjects (OR=2.79, 95% CI: 1.11 to 7.04, p=0.029) and the MDR-TB subject (OR=3.30, 95% CI 1.33 to 8.18, p=0.010) than in the NCs. However, the frequency of these genotypes was not different between the DS-TB and MDR-TB subjects. Conclusion: A significant association was found between NRAMP1 823 C/T polymorphism and pulmonary tuberculosis. This result suggests that NRAMP1 polymorphism may be involved in the development of pulmonary tuberculosis in Koreans.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 1994

A total 103 strains of Edwardsiella tarda was isolated from eel culture-ponds and examined for drug resistance, distribution and transferabilities of R plasmids. The drugs used were lincomycin(LM), penicillin(PM), sulfamethazine(SF), sulfadimethoxine(SD), cephalosprin(CP), chloramphenicol(CH), streptomycin(SM), oxytetracycline(OT), ampicillin(AP), oxolinic acid(OA), kanamycin(KM), amikacin(AK), gentamicin(GM) and enrofloxacin(EF). Two strains were resistant to the all drugs used, and all isolates were multiply resistant to drugs(at least 8 among 14 drugs), mostly restricted to LM(103 strains), PM(103 strains), SD(103 strains), SF(103 strains), CP(102 strains), CM(101 strains), SM(100 strains), OT(94 strains), AM(92 strains), OA(80 strains), KM(60 strains), AK(30 strains), GM(19 strains) and EF(14 strains), in combination at high degree showing 34 different drug resistant patterns. The most frequently encountered patterns were LM PM SD SF CP CH SM OT AP OA KM(22 strains, 22.4%) followed by LM PM SD SF CP CH SM OT AP OT(12 strains, 11.7%). LM PM SD SF CP CH SM OT AP(7 strains, 6.8%), LM PM SD SF CP CH SM OT AP OA KM AK GM(6 strains, 5.8%) and LM PM SD SF CP CH SM OT AM OX KM AK GM(6 strains, 5.8%). Transfer experiment of drug resistance showed that of 103 resistant strains, 100 strains(97%) transferred part or all resistance to all drugs, indicating that most isolates carried conjugally transferrable R plasmids determining multiple drugs. The most frequently observed transferarble R plasmids were LM PM SD SF CP CH SM OT AP OA(10 strains), LM PM SD SF CP CH SM OT AP OX KM(7 strains) and LM PM SD SF CP CH AP OA(7 strains). These results sugested that eel culture-ponds were highly contaminated with different strains of Edwardsiella tarda, and that contaminated bacteria might be highly multiple resistant strains to drugs, carring transferable R plasmids.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.111-115
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• 2003

This study was practiced to investigate characteristics and antibiotics susceptibility to 296 isolates of Escherichia coli isolated from 2429 fishery samples sold in Noryangjin Fishery Market from Sep. 2001 to Aug. 2002 It showed 12.2% average E. coli isolation rates for the tested samples. Isolation rates were high in summer, especially July and August, but there was no isolate in winter season. Of the fishery groups, the isolation rate showed in crustacea(15.6%), in mollusca(14.4%), in shellfish(12.0%) and in fish(11.0%). But, differences between the fishery groups was not large. In the case of shellfish, the isolation rate of shucked shellfish (16.3%) was higher than the non-shucked shellfish (6.8%). Following the provinces of origin of the fishery samples, in Gyung-Nam (14.3%) showed the highest isolation rate, whereas Je-Ju (6.9%) showed the lowest isolation rate. Results in 12 kinds of antibiotics susceptibility test, the 169 isolates(57.1%) had antibiotics resistances at least one kind of antibiotics and the 104 isolates (35.1%) had the multiple resistance at least two kinds.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.340-346
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• 1998

The strain YSK-681 has been selected for antibiotic-producing strain against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) form 1,000 strains of actinomycetes which had been isolated from soil. The strain YSK-681 has been identified on the point of morphological, cultural, physiological and chemical characteristics. Forty-one taxonomic unit characters were tested and the data were analysed numerically using the TAXON program. The isolate was classified into the major cluster 29 of Streptomyces and best-matched to Streptomyces lydicus. Therefore, it was concluded that the isolate was identified to be Streptomyces lydicus.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.134-151
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• 2024

Salmonella spp. is among the most important water-borne and food-borne pathogens and is one of the most common causes of human gastroenteritis and diarrheal diseases globally. In this study, Salmonella spp. isolated from food, environmental samples, and patients with food poisoning or diarrhea were investigated Salmonella serovars, antibiotic resistance using Vitek2, and genetic characteristics through pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Salmonella spp. of 339 strains, including 26 strains from food or environmental samples and 313 strains from patients, were isolated from Jeju Island of South Korea between 2020 and 2023. The monthly number of isolated Salmonella spp. gradually increased from March, with the highest number being in August. No significant differences in Salmonella spp. isolated from patients according to gender was observed. However, Salmonella spp. was most frequently isolated from people aged 70 years or older and least frequently isolated from those between ages 10 and 19 years. Salmonella spp. isolated from food or environmental samples were distributed among eight different serovars and the main serovars were identified in the order of S. Bareilly (26.9%), S. Rissen (23.1%), and S. Thompson (19.3%). Salmonella spp. isolated from patients were distributed among 27 different serovars and the main serovars were identified in the order of S. Bareilly (31.0%), S. Typhimurium (24.6%), and S. Enteritidis (11.5%). The main cause serovars of Salmonella spp. outbreaks are S. Bareilly, S. Enteritidis, S. Thompson. Antibiotic resistance tests indicated resistance to various antibiotics and some Salmonella spp. exhibited multidrug resistance. Salmonella spp. showed various genetic correlations among the 17 serovars. These results indicate that they can be used as basic data for epidemiological investigations by predicting the appearance of Salmonella spp. and providing a scientific basis.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.294-299
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• 2007

Eighty seven strains were isolated from 164 dried marine products(dried squid and dried alaska pollack etc) in Seoul Garak wholesale market. Among 87 isolates, twenty four E. faecalis and 4 E. faecium were identified by API strep kit. Twenty eight strains of E. faecalis, and E. faecium were resistant in streptomycin (95.6%), kanamycin (84.5%), gentamycin (66.7%), cephaloxin (97.8%), ampicillin/sulbactam (88.9%), ticarcillin(66.7%), amikacin (97.8%), sulfonamides (97.8%), ceftriaxone (75.6%), nalidixic acid (100.0%), and cefoxitin (100.0%), and were susceptible in amoxicillin/clavulanic acid(97.8%), chloramphenicol(95.6%), sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (97.8%), and tetracycline (71.1%). Also, ten strains of E. faecalis was resistant in $S-K-GM-CF-SAM-TIC-An-S_3-CRO-NA-FOX$ drugs simultaneously. Conclusively, E. faecalis strains from dried marine products were resistant on antibiotic drugs residue.