• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.302-307
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• 2003

Although, in human medicine, strains of methicillin-resistant staphylococi have become the most important causative agents of nosocomial infections, studies on the small animals are very. limited. The aim of this study was to determine mecA gene and susceptibility to antibiotics of staphylococci strains isolated from clinically ill or healthy dogs and cats, during the period August 2002-July 2003. A total of 136 staphylococci (87 coagulase-positive and 49 coagulase-negative) were investigated for antibiotic resistance, using disk diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. The mecA gene was detected using the polymerase chain reaction. The isolates belonged to the species S. aureus (53 isolates), S. intermedius (34 isolates), S. epidermidis (26 isolates) and other coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS, 23 isolates). Of the 136 isolates, 43 (31.6%) were mecA-positive and the frequency of the ,presence of mecA gene varied among the different species. All S. aureus strains were mecA-negative and were found to be susceptible, with an oxacillin MIC $\leq$1 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml. Five (13.6%) isolates of 36 that exhibited oxacillin resistance on the MIC testing were found to be mecA-negative, suggesting not all mecA-positive strains may be an oxacillin resistant. However, the mecA presence of the strains was correlated with high oxacillin resistance: 71.4% (10 isolates of 14; P < 0.001) for mecA-positive S. intermedius and 72.4% (21 isolates of 29; P < 0.001) for mecA-positive CNS isolates. About 69% (94 isolates of 136) showed resistance to at least one drug, and 22.8% (31 isolates) were resistant to four or more different drug classes. Resistance (36 isolates, 71.7%) to penicillin G was a common finidng. This study suggest that the mecA-positive staphylococci are prevalent in small animals, and selection of antibiotics to treat infections caused by mecA-positive staphylococci may be very limited because of multi-drug resistance.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.1123-1142
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• 1998

Background : The frequency of MOTT has risen as the prevalence of tuberculosis has been declining. Our country has been also. The most of MOTT was resistant to the major anti-tuberculous drugs. Method : To compare clinical characteristics and frequencies of MDR tuberculosis with MOTT, the author studied 65 patients showing AFB culture positive with sputum. The data were collected from 176 patients who had been admitted at the National Masan Tuberculosis Hospital from May to June, 1997 to April, 1998. Result : The frequency of MDR tuberculosis was 43.1% and that of MOTT was 9.2%. Among 65 isolated mycobacteria, 3 cases were M. intracellulare. 2 cases were M. fortuitum, and 1 case was unidentified MOTT. The most frequent age group in 65 culture positive patients was 4th decade and the mean age was 44. The mean age was 61 in MOTT and 42 in M. tuberculosis and had significant difference(p<0.01). The numbers with past history of treatment were 2.3 in MDR tuberculosis and 1.7 in non-MDR tuberculosis and had significant difference(p<0.05). At the time of admission, the most frequent regimen for the treatment of MDR tuberculosis was 24 months regimen(85.7%) with the 2nd line anti-tuberculosis drugs. For non-MDR tuberculosis, 9 or 12 months regimen (72.9%) with the 1st line anti-tuberculosis drugs and had significant difference (p<0.01). At the time of admission, the symptom of weight loss was shown in 84.7% of M. tuberculosis and 50.0% in MOTT and there was significant difference(p<0.05) between them. All of the MOTT were identified to be resistant against INH and PAS. Drug resistance rates to INH, OFX(p<0.01) and PAS(p<0.05) in MOTT were higher than in MDR. All of three M. intracellulare strains were resistant to INH, RFP, PAS and OFX. All of two M. fortuitum strains were resistant to most anti-tuberculosis drugs. And the other MOTT was resistant to INH, EMB and PAS. Conclusion : MOTT was more common in elderly patients than M. tuberculosis. MOTT cases should be considered to be the probability of multiple drug resistance and treatment failure during the 1st treatment because they showed more resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs than M. tuberculosis cases. Therefore, there should be more careful investigations for clinical characteristics, natural history of disease, and efficient management for MOTT.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.862-870
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• 1996

Background : Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis(MDR-Tb) has been increased not only in Asia but also in Western society, which may cause public health problems and reduce the efficacy of treatment of tuberculosis. In Western society HIV infection is believed to do a central role in increasing incidence of MDR tuberculosis, but MDR-Tb in Korea may be somewhat different about clinical features, underlying disorders, and prognosis. Goble et al reponed that overall treatment failure rate in MDR-Tb including resistance to isoniazid(INH) and rifampin (RFP) was 44 %. The aim of this study is to find the treatment result in Korea and the factors determining the prognosis. Methods: A retrospective study of pulmonary tuberculosis cultured M. tuberculosis from sputum or bronchial washing fluid between 1986 through 1992 was conducted in the Seoul Paik Hospital, Inje University. We reviewed clinical courses of 141 patients, who had a tuberculosis with resistance to 2 or more drugs including isoniazid(INH) and rifampin(RFP). One hundred and 4 patients of 141 patients had completed treatment and followed up for more than one year. Results: Of 104 (mean age $43.6{\pm}16.7$, M: F=63 : 41) patients with sufficient follow-up data, 73(84.6%) patients responded which is defined as negative Sputum cultures for at least 3 consecutive months. Seven patients(6.7%) had a failure in negative conversion and 9(8.7%) of the patients who initially responded relapsed. Overall treatment failure rate was 15.4%, Patients who were treated for less than 12 months had a higher relapse rate(12.3%) than 18 months(4.9%). And there was a statistically significant correlation between the relapse rate and the number of drugs to which isolates wera resistant(p<0.05). Conclusion : The treatment failure rate of MDR-Tb in Korea was lower than previous studies in western Country and the major determining factor of prognosis was the number of resistant drugs to M. tuberculosis at drug sensitivity test. For reducing the relapse rate, we recommend more than 12 months of treatment for MDR tuberculosis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.72 no.1
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• pp.44-49
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• 2012

Background: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is an increasing public health problem and poses a serious threat to global TB control. Fluoroquinolone (FQ) and aminoglycoside (AG) are essential anti-TB drugs for MDR-TB treatment. REBA MTB-FQ$^{(R)}$ and REBA MTB-KM$^{(R)}$ (M&D, Wonju, Korea) were evaluated for rapid detection of FQ and kanamycin (KM) resistance in MDR-TB clinical isolates. Methods: M. tuberculosis (n=67) were isolated and cultured from the sputum samples of MDR-TB patients for extracting DNA of the bacilli. Mutations in genes, gyrA and rrs, that have been known to be associated with resistance to FQ and KM were analyzed using both REBA MTB-FQ$^{(R)}$ and REBA MTB-KM$^{(R)}$, respectively. The isolates were also utilized for a conventional phenotypic drug susceptibility test (DST) as the gold standard of FQ and KM resistance. The molecular and phenotypic DST results were compared. Results: Sensitivity and specificity of REBA MTB-FQ$^{(R)}$ were 77 and 100%, respectively. Positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the assay were 100 and 95%, respectively, for FQ resistance. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of REBA MTB-KM$^{(R)}$ for detecting KM resistance were 66%, 94%, 70%, and 95%, respectively. Conclusion: REBA MTB-FQ$^{(R)}$ and REBA MTB-KM$^{(R)}$ evaluated in this study showed excellent specificities as 100 and 94%, respectively. However, sensitivities of the assays were low. It is essential to increase sensitivity of the rapid drug resistance assays for appropriate MDR-TB treatment, suggesting further investigation to detect new or other mutation sites of the associated genes in M. tuberculosis is required.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.67 no.3
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• pp.212-220
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• 2009

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii has been increasing and growing as a threat in intensive care units. Limited therapeutic options have forced clinicians to choose colistin with or without combination of other antibiotics. We tried to compare the effectiveness between colistin monotherapy and combination therapy based on in vitro synergistic tests. Methods: From January 2006 to December 2007 in medical ICU of a tertiary care hospital in Korea, We reviewed the medical records of patients treated with intravenous colistin due to ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Results: A total of 41 patients were analyzed. 22 patients had been treated with colistin monotherapy and 19 patients with colistin and combination antibiotics that were found to have in vitro synergistic effects. Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups but the mean duration of colistin administration was significantly longer in the combination group (19.1${\pm}$11.2 days vs. 12.3${\pm}$6.8 days, p=0.042). There were no significant differences in outcome variables between the two groups. Conclusion: Combination treatment based on the in vitro antimicrobial synergy test did not show better outcomes compared with colistin monotherapy in VAP caused by multi-drug resistant A. baumannii.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.4 s.71
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• pp.647-651
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• 2005

The major causative bacteria of food poisoning were Salmonella spp. $(35.6\%)$, Staphylococcus aureus $(11.3\%)$ and Vibrio parahaemolyticus $(3.2\%)$ in our country. In this study we attempted isolation of S. aureus from stools of patients with diarrhea. Sixty-four strains $(9.1\%)$ were isolated from 704 the stools of patients with diarrhea. The enterotoxin was detected from 29 isolates $(45.3\%)$: 24 isolates $(37.5\%)$, 3 isolates $(4.7\%)$ and 2 isolates $(3.1\%)$ were A, B and C type, respectively. In the antibiotic susceptibility, 63 isolates $(98.4\%)$ were resistant to penicillin, 60 isolates $(93.8\%)$ to ampicillin, 35 isolates $(54.7\%)$ to erythromycin, 32 isolates $(50.0\%)$ to gentamycin, 22 isolates $(34.4\%)$ to tetracycline and 20 isolates $(31.3\%)$ to oxacillin. All of S. aureus isolates were susceptible to chloramphenicol and vancomycin, 20 isolates $(31.3\%)$ were methicillin-resistance S. aureus (MRSA). MRSA isolation rate was higher in male $(35.7\%)$ than female $(26.3\%)$. With the exception of two isolates which were resistant only to penicillin, sixty-one isolates were multiple antibiotic resistance.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.274-277
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• 2012

Cytokinesis is the final stage of cell division, dividing one mother cell into two daughter cells. For the cutting of a plasma membrane during bacterial cytokinesis, a tubulin homolog FtsZ protein is recruited from the cytoplasm to the division site. FtsZ protein polymerizes in a GTP-dependent manner and its N-terminal domain has a GTPase activity. In this study, we have begun to characterize FtsZ from Staphylococcus aureus (SA). Full-length SA FtsZ was cloned into pRSFDuet-1 vector and the clone was transformed into a BL21 (DE3) star cell. The recombinant SA FtsZ protein was purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and dialysis. Using a spectrofluorometer, we showed that SA FtsZ undergoes a GTP-dependant polymerization in vitro. The polymer of the SA FtsZ protein disappeared after a few minutes, suggesting that the polymer is degraded as the GTP is consumed. This assay system may well be applied for inhibitor screening targeting S. aureus FtsZ.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.61-76
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• 2009

At the present study, it was aimed to explore the molecular genetic characterization of multiple antimicrobial resistant Salmonella spp. isolates from pigs and cattle. A total of 138 Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) isolates were typed with phage, among them, 83.3% of S. Typhimurium tested could divide into a 10 phage types. Definitive type 193 (DT193) (25.4%) and DT195 (24.6%) were exhibited as the dominant types. DT104 and U302 were found from pigs and cattle. On the other hand, S. Enteritidis had 6 phage types, of them, phage type 21 (PT21) and PT11b were the popular types. In the plasmid profiles, 135 of S. Typhimurium isolates were exhibited 1 to 6 plasmid bands which molecular weight ranged from 90 to 2kb. 35 isolates (25.4%) harbored a 90kb plasmid which is thought to be the serotype specific virulence plasmid. Two of twenty five S. Enteritidis had common plasmids at 2 and 1.5kb. With multiplex polymerase chain reaction, virulence genes (invA and spvC) were detected from all Salmonella spp. from 167 of S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis and chloramphenicol resistant S. Schwarzengrund, but some drug resistant genes, such as PSE-1, cml/tetR and flo were not determined but other drug resistant genes, for example TEM and int were found. The detection rates of spvC, TEM and int gene was 35.3%, 29.3% and 72.5%, respectively. The TEM gene was highly popular in S. Typhimurium, which was detected from ampicillin and amoxicillin resistant strains as 95.9%. int gene was able to detect from all the isolates identified as multidrug resistsnt (MDR), particularly DT193 was thought as the most prevalent virulence and multidrug resistance isolate. The major plasmid profile and drug resistance pattern of DT193 were 90, 40, 10.5, 6.3, 3.0kb and ACCbDNaPSSuT, respectively. MDR was commonly found in other phage types, particularly DT104, U302 and DT203.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.218-224
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• 1997

Purpose: The antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae has encountered with increasing frequency from around the world. In our country, penicillin resistant strains of S. penumococci are rapidly increasing. It has been known that colonized pneumococci in upper respiratory tract cause sinisitis, otitis media, meningitis and pneumonia. We tried to reveal the colonization rate of pneumonocci in upper respiratory tract, their antimicrobial resistance and DNA fingerprinting pattern in normal children. Methods: We got specimens from 117 children of day-care center in Seoul through oropharyngeal swab. After incubation on BAP, optochin test and slide latex agglutination test were used for identification. Antimicobial susceptibility test to penicillin, vancomycin, erythromycin and TMP-SMZ was done with disk diffusion method. Penicillin MIC was gotten through the broth microdilution method. Genotyping of 45 pneumococci was done by rep-PCR using REP1R-Dt and REP2-Dt primer. Results: The carriage rate of pneumococci in the day-care center children was 38%(45/117). The resistance of penicillin, erhthromycin, TMP/SMZ, vancomycin by the disk diffusion method are 89%, 91%, 64% and 0%, respectively. 64% of the isolates showed multiple resistance. 7 types of DNA fingerprinting were gotten and 78% of isolates belonged to three types. Conclusion: We found that the antimicrobial resistance of children attending the day-care center in Seoul was much higher than expected. We assumed that this might be due to their easy and frequent exposure to antimicrobial agents and crowded day-care center 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.