• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.246-254
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• 2023

V. parahaemolyticus causes waterborne and foodborne disease such as acute diarrhea. In this study, V. parahaemolyticus isolates from seawater, fish tanks, and distributed fishery products in Jeju were investigated for potential toxin or species-specific genes (tdh, trh, tlh, and toxR) using RT-PCR and their genetic characteristics were analyzed using Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Overall, V. parahaemolyticus of 90 strains (36.7%), including 33 strains from seawater, 8 strains from fish tanks, and 50 strains from fishery products, were isolated from 245 samples. All V. parahaemolyticus strains did not detect the tdh gene, whereas all strains detected tlh or toxR genes. In addition, trh genes were detected in 3 strains from seawater and 1 strain from fishery products. Monthly quantitative testing of seawater revealed that V. parahaemolyticus was positively correlated with water temperature. The 90 strains of V. parahemolyticus obtained in this study showed by gene homology between types, ranging from 64.0-97.3%. Among these, thirteen types showed 100% homology between genes. These results indicate that continuous monitoring is needed to facilitate food poisoning epidemiological investigations because some isolated V. parahaemolyticus strains harbored toxin genes and V. parahaemolyticus strains isolated from seawater, fish tanks, and distributed fishery products showed genetic similarity.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.181-190
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• 2024

Bovine mastitis-associated Escherichia coli (BMEC) is considered the main causative agent of significant financial losses in the dairy industry worldwide, as it alters both the quantity and quality of milk produced and increases the rate of culling. This creates a variety of challenges for researchers, veterinarians, and farmers in understanding and determining the most effective therapies and diagnostic techniques. Subclinical mastitis is particularly concerning, as infected bovines exhibit no obvious symptoms and continue to secrete apparently normal milk over an extended period, allowing the causative pathogen, E. coli, to spread within the herd. For effective prevention, understanding the pathogenesis of mastitis through three stages invasion, infection, and inflammation is essential. To date, no clear correlation has been found between virulence factors and pathogenicity contributing to the clinical severity of BMEC. Multidrug-resistant E. coli and the evolution of novel resistance mechanisms have become concerns owing to the extensive use of antibiotics to treat mastitis. Therefore, it is vital to explore alternative controls to enhance the efficacy of BMEC treatment. Over the past 30 years, various genetic typing techniques have been used to examine the subspecies-level epidemiology of bovine mastitis. These studies have advanced our understanding of the origin, transmission pathway, population structure, and evolutionary relatedness of BMEC strains. In this review we provide an overview of BMEC, including insights into its etiology, genetic relationship, pathogenesis, and management of the disease, as well as new therapy options.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.435-450
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• 2024

Purpose: This study developed the evaluation components and criteria for the Korean Healthy Diet (KHD) and assessed the current compliance of Koreans. Methods: The study reviewed domestic and international dietary guidelines and literature and conducted an online survey of 514 Korean adults to understand their nutritional perceptions, specifically the perceived importance of health and incorporation into usual diet. Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) were used to investigate food and nutrient intake patterns and examine the relationship between intake and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Based on these data, the components and criteria for a KHD were established by sex and age, and adherence was assessed. Results: The KHD evaluation included 13 dietary components: carbohydrates, sugar, fiber, protein, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, calcium, mixed grains, meat·fish·eggs·beans, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products. Applying the selected components and criteria to data from the KNHANES (2019-2021), the average KHD adherence score for Korean adults was 5.465 ± 0.023 out of a maximum score of 13. The score significantly increased with age (4.766 ± 0.044 for 19-29 years; 5.276±0.032 for 30-49 years; 6.109 ± 0.033 for 50-64 years), and women (5.642 ± 0.028) had higher scores than men (5.284 ± 0.030) (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the total score significantly differed between those with MetS (5.518 ± 0.045) and those without (5.568 ± 0.026) after adjusted for sex and age (p < 0.05). When scoring the dietary components, sugar (0.852 ± 0.004) and proteins (0.881 ± 0.004) scored relatively higher in the association with MetS, whereas calcium (0.148 ± 0.004) and mixed grains (0.225 ± 0.005) scored relatively lower. Conclusions: The KHD evaluation criteria could be used as a tool for screening and monitoring the overall diet quality of Koreans.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.218-230
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• 2010

This study was conducted to survey isoflavone intake among adult women in menopause with diseases such as metabolic syndrome and osteoporosis and to analyze the relationship between each of these chronic diseases followed by isoflavone intake and the related health risk index. The average age of the subjects was 49.97 years old, while that of the pre-menopausal subjects was 45.14 years, and the post-menopausal subjects was 55.99 years. The average body mass index (BMI), waist-hip circumference, body fat percentage, blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipid content of the post-menopausal subjects were higher in significant difference than those of the pre-menopausal subjects. The bone density of the hip and spine in post-menopausal subjects was lower in significant difference than that of the pre-menopausal subjects. After menopause, the subjects had a lower ratio of individuals at risk of anemia when compared with the subjects before menopause, but had higher health risk ratio related to each type of chronic disease, including obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol and osteoporosis than the subjects before menopause. The intake frequency of each soybean food was similar among subjects before/after menopause. The most common soybean based foods consumed by the subjects were soybean, soybean curd and soybean paste. The average daily intake level of isoflavone among subjects before menopause was 25.48 mg, while that of subjects after menopause was 32.25 mg. Evaluation of the distribution of the isoflavone level revealed that the pre-menopausal subjects consumed 3.29~78.36 mg and the post-menopausal subjects consumed 3.18~116.59 mg. The intake level by each individual varied greatly. The pre-menopausal subjects had a low BMI index and systolic blood pressure as much as their isoflavone intake level was high. Additionally, the post-menopausal subjects had a low menarche age and high menopause age when their isoflavone intake level was high, the BMI index and waist-hip circumference ratio was highest among individuals with lowest isoflavone intake level. This study showed that there was a possible relationship between soybean isoflavone intake and health problems such as obesity, high cholesterol, and osteoporosis in women after menopause with diseases such as metabolic syndrome and osteoporosis, even if this relationship was not great.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2009

Purpose: To update the epidemiologic information of hepatobiliary diseases in pediatric inpatients using cross-sectional survey data throughout the Republic of Korea. Methods: Nationwide cross-sectional survey was obtained from the 85 residency training hospitals in Korea to gather the final diagnosis on discharge. The surveyed periods were from 2004 to 2006. All the reports regarding the diagnosis were based on ICD-10 system. In this study, we focused on hepatobiliary diseases. Results: A total of 826,896 cases with discharge data were collected, of which 4,151 (5.0%) hepatobiliary cases were identified; 2,385 cases (57.4%) of hepatobiliary disease were hepatitis, which was the most common hepatobiliary disease. Other diseases included congenital hepatobiliary diseases (524 cases [12.6%]) and biliary diseases (315 cases [7.6%]). The prevalence of hepatobiliary disease according to age differed. Biliary atresia was the most common hepatobiliary disease in the neonatal period, whereas the prevalence of hepatitis increased in adolescents. The total number of hepatobiliary operations was 416 cases. With the comparison of annual data, there was no definite difference in the total number of hepatobiliary cases. The average duration of hospital stay appeared to decrease gradually. Conclusion: In this study, we have summarized the recent epidemiology of hepatobiliary disorders in Korean children based on discharge data. Hepatobiliary disorders in pediatric inpatient units consisted of diverse disorders with a low prevalence, so multi-center approaches should be considered to enhance the clinical and public health outcomes. To improve this nationwide survey, a new data collecting system should be developed.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.60-74
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• 2017

To facilitate prevention of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a GIS is widely used for monitoring, investigating epidemics, managing HPAI-infected farms, and eradicating the disease. After the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2010 and 2011, the government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) established the GIS-based Korean Animal Health Integrated System (KAHIS) to avert livestock epidemics, including HPAI. However, the KAHIS is not sufficient for controlling HPAI outbreaks due to lack of responsibility in fieldwork, such as sterilization of HPAI-infected poultry farms and regions, control of infected animal movement, and implementation of an eradication strategy. An outbreak prediction model to support efficient HPAI control in the ROK is proposed here, constructed via analysis of HPAI outbreak patterns in the ROK. The results show that 82% of HPAI outbreaks occurred in Jeolla and Chungcheong Provinces. The density of poultry farms in these regions were $2.2{\pm}1.1/km^2$ and $4.2{\pm}5.6/km^2$, respectively. In addition, reared animal numbers ranged between 6,537 and 24,250 individuals in poultry farms located in HPAI outbreak regions. Following identification of poultry farms in HPAI outbreak regions, an HPAI outbreak prediction model was designed using factors such as the habitat range for migratory birds(HMB), freshwater system characteristics, and local road networks. Using these factors, poultry farms which reared 6,500-25,000 individuals were filtered and compared with number of farms actually affected by HPAI outbreaks in the ROK. The HPAI prediction model shows that 90.0% of the number of poultry farms and 54.8% of the locations of poultry farms overlapped between an actual HPAI outbreak poultry farms reported in 2014 and poultry farms estimated by HPAI outbreak prediction model in the present study. These results clearly show that the HPAI outbreak prediction model is applicable for estimating HPAI outbreak regions in ROK.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.122-129
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• 2010

Purpose : Enteroviral infection is a common viral illness in children. We undertook this study in attempt to comprehend the epidemiologic and clinical features of enteroviral infections, particularly EV71 in children. Methods : We enrolled 63 children with enteroviral infection at Severance Children's Hospital in Seoul between May and August 2009. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed from stool or cerebrospinal fluid samples, which were then tested for enteroviral infection. Viral isolation and serotype identification also were performed by RT-PCR. Results : A total of 63 patients with clinical diagnosis of enteroviral infections were enrolled; of those, 38 (60%) were positive for enterovirus. The mean age of the patients was 2 years and 7 months and the sex ratio of male to female was 0.9 :1. Their clincal manifestations included aseptic meningitis (21 cases, 55%), HFMD (16 cases, 42%), herpangina (5 cases, 13%), neonatal fever (2 cases, 5%), encephalitis (1 case, 3%), and myocarditis (1 case, 3%). Serotypes of isolated enteroviruses were EV71 (8 cases, 21%), coxsackievirus B1 (8 cases, 21%), coxsackievirus A16 (2 cases, 6%), coxsakievirus A2 (1 case, 3%), coxsakievirus A5 (1 case, 3%), and echovirus 9 (1 case, 3%). Clinical symptoms of EV71 infection included HFMD (5 cases, 63%), aseptic meningitis (3 cases, 38%), encephalitis (1 case, 13%), and myocarditis (1 case, 13%). A positive rate of C-reactive protein in EV71 was higher than those in other enterviral infections. However, there was no statistically significant difference in other laboratory findings. Conclusion : We reported on identified enteroviruses, including EV71, during a period of 3 months in the summer of 2009. In this study, EV71 infection frequently occurred in male and clinical manifestation caused by EV71 was a more severe disease than that due to other enterviral infections. There is a need for continuous surveillance of enteroviral infection and its clinical manifestations for diagnosis and treatment of enteroviral infection.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.284-295
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• 2020

In December 2019, the first coronavirus disease- 2019 (COVID-19) patient was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since then, the number of patients who suffered severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by the novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV) has increased dramatically in Korea. This new variant virus induces pulmonary diseases, including cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea, dyspnea, and pneumonia. Because SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus, real-time reverse-transcriptase PCR has been used widely to diagnose COVID-19. As the Korea Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (KCDC) and Ministry of Food & Drug Safety (MFDS) approved emergency use authorization, clinical specimens collected from COVID-19 patients and even healthy people have been clinically diagnosed by laboratory medicine. Based on a literature search, this paper reviews the epidemiology, symptoms, molecular diagnostics approved by KCDC, a current diagnosis of COVID-19 in the laboratories, the difference between molecular and serological diagnosis, and guidelines for clinical specimens. In addition, the Korean guidelines of biosafety for clinical laboratory scientists are evaluated to prevent healthcare-associated infection. The author's experience and lessons as clinical laboratory scientists will provide valuable insights to protect the domestic and international health community in this COVID-19 pandemic around the world.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.442-454
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• 2017

Biological weapon is manipulated and produced from microorganisms such as bacteria, virus, rickettsia, fungi etc. It is classified as one of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) along with chemical weapon and radiological weapon. Biological weapon has a number of operational advantages over the other WMDs including ease of development and production, low cost and possibility of covert dissemination. In this study we analyze the history of biological weapon's development and the existing biological threats. Then, we predict the social impact of biological attack based on the physical properties of biological agent and infection mechanisms. By analyzing the recognition, dispersion pattern of agents, characteristics of the diseases in the biological weapon related historical events such as Sverdlovsk anthrax accident, 2001 anthrax attack, we found out some of the facts that biological attack would not likely to be recognized rapidly, produce large number of the exposed, increase number of paients who suffed from severe respiratory illness. It would lead the public health and medical service providers to be struggled with hugh burden. Base on the facts that we found from this case study, we suggested the main capabilities of public health required to respond to bioterrorism event efficiently. Syndromic surveillance and other reporting system need to be operated effeciently so that any suspicious event should be detected promptly. the pathogen which suspected to be used should be identified through laboratory diagnostic system. It is critical for the public health agency to define potentially exposed population under close cooperation with law enforcement agencies. Lastly, massive prophylaxis should be provided rapidly to the people at need by operating human and material resources effeciently. If those capacities of public health are consistantly fortified we would be able to deal with threat of bioterrorism successfully.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.310-319
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• 2012

In this study, 1,495 cases of computerized data collected as disease entities of oral and maxillofacial injuries among patient visiting S university hospital located in Seoul in 2009 were analyzed and following results were obtained. It was found that the injury incidence in male was greater than in female (1.49:1), it occurred most frequently in the age of 7~14 years old (19.6%), and its most frequent cause was falling down (25.9%). Injuries occurred in other place including beach and open-air (24.7%) most frequently, often developed in anterior teeth (43.2%) and posterior teeth (43.1%), their incidence was relatively higher between 15:00~17:00 (10.4%) and 19:00~23:00 (7.1%) O'clock. In the relationship between causes of the injury and the diagnosis based on the international classification of disease), falling, fall, impingement, violence, traffic accident, sports and own making accident caused most frequently lip and oral open injuries (S01.5), open fracture of tooth (S02.51), close fracture of tooth (S02.50), close fracture of mandible (S02.60), close fracture of tooth (S02.50), respectively. From the above results, it is necessary to understand general characteristics of oral and maxillofacial injuries and to consider their trends for the establishment of systematic complement policies and for the performing safety training and public relations activities.