• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.159-163
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• 1983

Infectious coryza is one of the important acute respiratory diseases causing a significant egg drop and retarded growth in chicken. An attempt for the isolation of etiologic agent was made by utilizing SPF sentinel birds housed in commercial farms and the results obtained are as follows. Fifteen isolates of Haemophilus gallinarum were tested for their biological and serological characteristics with reference strains, 221 and Modesto and subsequently classified into two serotypes. Of them, isolates immunolocally identical to the standard strains were also selected as vaccine strains for future studies.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.7
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• pp.322-327
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• 2021

School closures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have been outlined in studies from different disciplines, including economics, sociology, mathematical modeling, epidemiology, and public health. In this review, we discuss the implications of school closures in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Modeling studies of the effects of school closures, largely derived from the pandemic influenza model, on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 produced conflicting results. Earlier studies assessed the risk of school reopening by modeling transmission across schools and communities; however, it remains unclear whether the risk is due to increased transmission in adults or children. The empirical findings of the impact of school closures on COVID-19 outbreaks suggest no clear effect, likely because of heterogeneity in community infection pressure, differences in school closure strategies, or the use of multiple interventions. The benefits of school closings are unclear and not readily quantifiable; however, they must be weighed against the potential high social costs, which can also negatively affect the health of this generation.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.123-130
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• 2021

Objectives: Control methods against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) aerosols have been introduced. Airborne spreading theories for SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed in this study. Methods: Control methods for airborne microorganisms were discussed. Studies on theoretical estimations for airborne spreading of SARS-CoV-2 were presented and analyzed. Analytic calculations were conducted for explaining control techniques for airborne microorganisms. Results: Control methods for SARS-CoV-2 aerosols can include physical or biological procedures. Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols and massive clustering infection cases of COVID-19 support the airborne spreading theories of SARS-CoV-2. It is necessary to consider the disadvantages of control methods for airborne microorganisms. Conclusions: A study on control methods against bioaerosols is necessary to prevent the spreading of viruses. Airborne spreading theories of SARS-CoV-2 were supported by the current evidence, but further studies are needed to confirm these theories.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.53-58
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• 2022

Pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs. According to the World Health Organization, pneumonia is the leading cause of death for children worldwide. As a result, pneumonia was the top killer of children under the age of five years old in 2015, which is 15% of all deaths worldwide. In this paper, we used CNN model architectures to compare between the result of proposed a CNN method with VGG based model architecture. The model's performance in detecting pneumonia shows that the proposed model based on VGG can classify normal and abnormal X-rays effectively and more accurately than the proposed model used in this paper.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.61-69
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• 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a global pandemic for over 2 years. During the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant-predominant period in South Korea, confirmed cases among children and adolescents surged. This review found that, although younger children may be less susceptible to COVID-19 than adolescents, more research is needed on the role of children and adolescents in the disease's spread. Detailed epidemiological information about the transmissibility of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strain in children and adolescents is currently scarce, and more research is needed on the role of children and adolescents in disease's spread. There may be a difference in the proportion of cases with severe disease requiring hospitalization depending on the dominant mutant strain; however, COVID-19 generally presents with a mild-to-moderate course in children aged 5-11 years old.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2021.04a
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• pp.3-3
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• 2021

The ongoing global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has not only influenced over 1.26 billion people but also caused 2.77 million deaths worldwide (as of March 28, 2021). The vaccination could be the most efficient strategy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the continuous emergence of novel variants such as VUI-202012/01 (United Kingdom) and 501.V2 (South Africa) raises huge concerns about the effectiveness of the vaccine designed to target the original virus strain. Since ancient times regardless of the East and West, the plants which refered in this presentation have been consumed not only as food but also as a natural medicine to treat diverse diseases including infectious diseases. Importantly, these plants contain secondary metabolites that display antiviral activity involved in the inhibition of viral adsorption, penetration, and replication. Also, plant-derived natural medicines are expected to have a wider range of efficacy and fewer side effects than synthetic medicine, discovering novel plant-based viral agents would be a promising strategy to fight against SARS-CoV-2.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.301-307
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• 2008

Background: The triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) is an activating receptor that is expressed on the surface of neutrophils and mature monocytes when stimulated with several microbial components, which can amplify the inflammatory response. This study analyzed the prognostic value of the sTREM-1 levels in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Methods: The bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and blood was collected prospectively from 32 patients with ARDS, 15 survivors and 17 nonsurvivors. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to measure the sTREM-1. The following data was obtained: APACHE II score, Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS), BAL fluid analysis, C-reative protein. Mortality in the ICU was defined as the end point. Results: The serum sTREM-1 level was significantly higher in the nonsurvivors than survivors ($54.3{\pm}10.3pg/ml$ vs. $22.7{\pm}2.3pg/ml$, p<0.05). The sTREM-1 level in the serum, but not in the BAL fluid, was an independent predictor of the ICU mortality (OR: 22.051, 95% CI: 1.780~273.148, p<0.016), and a cut-off value of ${\geq}33pg/ml$ yielded a diagnostic sensitivity of 71% and specificity of 93%. Conclusion: The serum sTREM-1 level may be a useful predictor of the outcome of ARDS patients.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.149-156
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• 2012

Purpose : We conducted a prospective comparative clinical study to determine the field efficacy of the 2010-2011 influenza vaccines [Influenza virus strains; A/California/7/2009 (H1N1), A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2), B/Brisbane/60/2008] in healthy Korean children under 18 years of age. Methods : In this study, we enrolled subjects aged between 6 months and 18 years and divided them into 2 study groups: a group who received the influenza vaccines (407 subjects), and a control group who did not receive the influenza vaccines (230 subjects). Ours was a multicenter study that involved 7 hospitals, including the Korea Cancer Center Hospital. The study was conducted between September 2010 and February 2011. We collected nasal wash or throat swab samples from subjects who presented with acute febrile respiratory or influenza-like illnesses at the hospital. We used PCR to confirm the presence of the influenza virus in the respiratory samples and characterize the virus type. Results : In this study, we collected 22 respiratory samples from the influenza-vaccinated group and found 3 cases of influenza virus infection. Similarly, we collected 21 samples from the control group and found 12 cases of influenza virus infection among 10 subjects during the study period. We determined the field efficacy of the 2010-2011 seasonal influenza vaccines to be 83.2% in healthy Korean children and adolescents. Conclusion : In this study, we determined the field efficacy of the 2010-2011 seasonal influenza vaccines in healthy Korean children and adolescents. We found that the field efficacy of 2010-2011 seasonal influenza vaccines was adequate.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.249-262
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• 2021

The most effective way to control newly emerging infectious disease, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, is to strengthen preventative or therapeutic public health strategies before the infection spreads worldwide. However, global health systems remain at the early stages in anticipating effective therapeutics or vaccines to combat the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. While maintaining social distance is the most crucial metric to avoid spreading the virus, symptomatic therapy given to patients on the clinical manifestations helps save lives. The molecular properties of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been quickly elucidated, paving the way to therapeutics, vaccine development, and other medical interventions. Despite this progress, the detailed biomolecular mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection remains elusive. Given virus invasion of cells is a determining factor for virulence, understanding the viral entry process can be a mainstay in controlling newly emerged viruses. Since viral entry is mediated by selective cellular proteases or proteins associated with receptors, identification and functional analysis of these proteins could provide a way to disrupt virus propagation. This review comprehensively discusses cellular machinery necessary for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Understanding multifactorial traits of the virus entry will provide a substantial guide to facilitate antiviral drug development.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.422-431
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• 2022

Purpose: At the beginning of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, physicians paid close attention to children with chronic diseases to prevent transmission or a severe course of infection. We aimed to measure the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody levels in children with chronic gastrointestinal and liver diseases to analyze the risk factors for infection and its interaction with their primary disease. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels in patients with gastrointestinal and liver diseases (n=141) and in healthy children (n=48) between January and February 2021. Results: During the pandemic, 10 patients (7%) and 1 child (2%) had confirmed COVID-19 infection (p=0.2). The SARS-CoV-2 antibody test was positive in 36 patients (25.5%) and 11 children (22.9%) (p=0.7). SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity was found in 20.4%, 26.6%, 33.3%, and 33.3% of patients with chronic liver diseases, chronic gastrointestinal tract diseases, cystic fibrosis, and liver transplantation recipients, respectively (p>0.05, patients vs. healthy children). Risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity were COVID-19-related symptoms (47.2% vs. 14.2%, p=0.00004) and close contact with SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction-positive patients (69.4% vs. 9%, p<0.00001). The use, number, and type of immunosuppressants and primary diagnosis were not associated with SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity. The frequency of disease activation/flare was not significant in patients with (8.3%) or without (14.2%) antibody positivity (p=0.35). Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in children with chronic gastrointestinal and liver diseases are similar to that in healthy children. Close follow-up is important to understand the long-term effects of past COVID-19 infection in these children.