• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.209-212
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• 1999

For the classification of B. burgdorferi sensu lato strains, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was performed. PCR was carried out with B. burgdorferi sensu lato specific primer set (BB uni set), and amplicons of 470-bp DNA were digested with Alu 1. The Alu I restriction polymorphism of the amplicons provided a useful tool for identifying B. burgdorferi sensu late strains. Both amplicons from B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and B. garinii except HPI strain showed identical RFLP pattern (50 bp, 70 bp, and 150 bp), but amplicons from B. afzelii and B. garinii showed two types of subgroups, respectively. The result of PCR-RFLP using extracted DNAs from ticks was similar to those patterns of B. burgdorferi species including B. afzelii.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.281-283
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• 2007

This study was conducted to survey of Ehrlichia (E.) canis and Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi antibodies among clinically healthy German shepherd dogs (116 females and 120 males) using a ELISA kit (SNAP 3Dx; IDEXX Laboratories, USA) in Korea. Whole blood samples are collected from the 236 dogs and are tested to detect E. canis and B. burgdorferi antibodies by using ELISA kit (SNAP 3Dx; IDEXX Laboratories, USA). Confidence interval comparisions revealed that dogs of 4-6 years have higher prevalence with a seropositive result (CI=0.17-0.45) in E. canis than the other age groups but there are no differences among age groups in B. burgdorferi. Also, no differences with a seropositive result were found among different regions in E. canis and B. burgdorferi antibodies. In conclusion, this study was the first large scale survey of canine E. canis and B. burgdorferi antibodies in Korea and provide an useful reference for clinicians.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.95-105
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• 1997

Currently, the laboratory diagnosis for lyme disease have been performed with the detection of antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi. However there might be some difficulties in the interpretation of obtained results due to the usage of foreign isolates as an antigen in the test. Therefore the optimization of serological tests with Korean isolates of B. burgdorferi as an antigen would be needed to establish the standardized diagnostic method for the detection of antibodies against B. burgdorferi infection. In this study, the optimization of ELISA was investigated with experimentally challenged rabbit sera and sonicated B. burgdorferi antigens of Korean isolates. Of 217 human patient's sera with unknown fever, the mean seropositivities in ELISA, done under the optimized conditions obtained in this study, were found to be about 8％ against B. burgdorferi sensu late, showing the highest seropositivity of 14.3％ against B. afzelii. In immunoblotting assay with ELISA-positive human sera, the major reactive bands were 41kDa (flagellin) which might be the indication of early infection, and 27kDa, 31kDa (OspA), 34kDa (OspB) which are the characteristics of late infection. Obtained results in this study might strongly indicate the possibility of B. burgdorferi infections in Korea.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 1998

To investigate the distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent in ticks, adult ixodid ticks of Ixodes spp. and Haemaphysalis spp. were collected from the high mountain areas of Kangwon Province. Using DNAs extracted and purified in the collected ticks, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to amplify the specific nucleotide sequences of both agents. Of the 516 ticks, a total of 68 (13.2%) ticks was positive for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato with PCR analysis (2 for B. burgdorferi sensu stricto； 1 for B. afzelii；33 for B. garinii； 8 for B. tanukii；4 for B. turdae). However a little more than half of PCR-positive ticks (37/68) was found to be positive in the southern blot analysis with Bl6S oligonucleotide probe. One hundred and one (19.2%) ticks were positive for Ehrlichia spp. in PCR, and a quarter of them (25/101) was positive in southern blot with El6S oligonucleotide probe. But none of them was found to be the DNA of HGE agent. And 0.6% (3/516) ticks were positive for both of B. burgdorferi sensu late and Ehrlirhia spp. These findings might implicate the possibility of the outbreak of Iyme borreliosis and ehrlichiosis in Korea, and more extensive studies may be need for the diagnosis of multiple tick-borne diseases.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.204-212
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• 1999

The visceral dissemination of Borrelia burgdorferi in New Zealand White rabbits was evaluated following intradermal inoculation of $1{\times}10^8$ spirochetes. We inoculated Borrelia burgdorferi B31, B garinii KW1 and B afzehlii S13, respectively, and monitored the dissemination in the experimentally infected rabbits for 28 days. In the B burgdorferi B31-challenged group, the spirochetes were completely cleared in rabbits at day 1 and visceral dissemination was not demonstrated. However, B garinii KW1 and B afzelii S13 were found to successfully disseminate in visceral organs of rabbits during the experiment period of 28 days. And experimentally infection-derived immunological responses in rabbits were identified with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblot analysis. Based on these results, the differences in the virulence of Lyme borrelial strains were proved in rabbit model.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.97-101
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• 2016

Lyme disease is a tick-borne zoonotic infectious disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. The present study assessed the infection status of B. burgdorferi among horses reared in Korea using ELISA and PCR. Between 2009 and 2013, blood samples were collected from 727 horses throughout Korea. Data for each animal including age, gender, breed, and region of sample collection were used for epidemiological analysis. Overall, 38 (5.2%; true prevalence: 5.5%) of 727 horses were seropositive by ELISA. There were statistically significant differences according to breed and region (P<0.001) whose differences might be attributed to the ecology of vector ticks and climate conditions. Using 2 nested PCR, none of the samples tested positive for B. burgdorferi. Thus, a positive ELISA result can indicate only that the tested horse was previously exposed to B. burgdorferi, with no certainty over the time of exposure. Since global warming is likely to increase the abundance of ticks in Korea, continuous monitoring of tick-borne diseases in Korean horses is needed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.715-723
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• 2023

Microbial biofilms are resilient, immune-evasive, often antibiotic-resistant health challenges, and increasingly the target for research into novel therapeutic strategies. We evaluated the effects of a nutraceutical enzyme and botanical blend (NEBB) on established biofilm. Five microbial strains with known implications in chronic human illnesses were tested: Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus simulans (coagulase-negative, penicillin-resistant), Borrelia burgdorferi, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The strains were allowed to form biofilm in vitro. Biofilm cultures were treated with NEBB containing enzymes targeted at lipids, proteins, and sugars, also containing the mucolytic compound N-acetyl cysteine, along with antimicrobial extracts from cranberry, berberine, rosemary, and peppermint. The post-treatment biofilm mass was evaluated by crystal-violet staining, and metabolic activity was measured using the MTT assay. Average biofilm mass and metabolic activity for NEBB-treated biofilms were compared to the average of untreated control cultures. Treatment of established biofilm with NEBB resulted in biofilm-disruption, involving significant reductions in biofilm mass and metabolic activity for Candida and both Staphylococcus species. For B. burgdorferi, we observed reduced biofilm mass, but the remaining residual biofilm showed a mild increase in metabolic activity, suggesting a shift from metabolically quiescent, treatment-resistant persister forms of B. burgdorferi to a more active form, potentially more recognizable by the host immune system. For P. aeruginosa, low doses of NEBB significantly reduced biofilm mass and metabolic activity while higher doses of NEBB increased biofilm mass and metabolic activity. The results suggest that targeted nutraceutical support may help disrupt biofilm communities, offering new facets for integrative combinational treatment strategies.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.20.1-20.8
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• 2022

Background: Emergent and re-emergent canine tick-borne infections are attracting increasing attention worldwide. The rise in pet ownership and the close relationship between dogs and their owners are the most concerning factors because dogs may act as competent reservoirs for human tick-transmitted infectious agents. Objectives: This study contributes to the epidemiological surveillance of canine tick-transmitted infections with zoonotic risk in the Republic of Korea (ROK) by investigating the seroprevalence of the pathogens, Anaplasma spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, and Ehrlichia canis. Methods: Four hundred and thirty whole blood samples from domestic dogs were collected in seven metropolitan cities and nine provinces in the ROK and tested using SensPERT Ab test kits (VetAll Laboratories^®) to detect seroreactive animals. Results: The seroprevalence rates identified were 9.8% (42/430) for Anaplasma spp., 2.8% (12/430) for B. burgdorferi, and 1.4% (6/430) for E. canis. The risk factors evaluated in this study that could be associated with the development of a humoral immune response, such as sex, age, and history of tick exposure, were similar. There was only one exception for dogs seroreactive to Anaplasma spp., where the risk factor "tick exposure" was statistically significant (p = 0.047). Conclusions: This serological survey exhibited the widespread presence of Anaplasma spp., B. burgdorferi, and E. canis throughout the ROK. Hence, dogs may play a key role as the sentinel animals of multiple zoonotic infectious agents in the country.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.471-478
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• 1999

Spirochetes were isolated from the midgut of Ixodes persulcatus ticks captured at Chungju, Korea and identified as Borrelia afzelii strains by polymerase chain reaction. To determine the pathogenicity of the B. afzelii strains isolated in Korea, the microbiological and pathological features of Lyme disease were observed in C3H/He mice after intraperitoneal inoculation of the fresh isolate of B. afzelii strain. The results are summarized as follows 1) The Borrelia were detected in the tissues of heart, spleen, kidney, urinary bladder and knee joint within 7 days after inoculation of infection by dark field microscopic examination. The isolation rate from heart, urinary bladder and joint was significantly higher than the rate from spleen, kidney, and blood samples. 2) The Borrelia was detected in heart muscle by indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. 3) Antibody to the Borrelia was detected as early as one week after inoculation. 4) The marked tropism of the Borrelia was observed in myocardial, urinary tract and joint tissue. The main pathological features are inflammation in tissues of heart, kidney, joint and urinary bladder. From these results, the Borrelia afzelii strain isolated in Korea were determined as pathogenic strain.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.631-634
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• 2010

This study was conducted to survey Dirofilaria (D.) immitis antigen, and Anaplasma (A.) phagocytophilum, Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi, and Ehrlichia (E.) canis antibodies among clinically healthy dogs in the Daejeon city and Kangwon province. Whole blood samples were collected from two hundred and fifty two dogs (127 females and 125 males, 147 outdoors and 105 indoors), and they were tested by using ELISA kit (SNAP 4Dx, IDEXX Laboratories, USA). Chi-squared analysis showed that A. phagocytophilum of female dogs in outdoors group was significantly higher prevalence than that of female dogs in indoors group (p < 0.05). In addition, infection rate of A. phagocytophilum of over 7 year-old-dogs in outdoors group revealed significantly higher prevalence than that of indoors group (p < 0.01). In E. canis, the under 4 year-old-dogs (p < 0.05), 4~7 year-old-dogs (p < 0.05) and over 7 year-old-dogs (p < 0.01) in outdoor group showed significantly higher prevalence than that of indoors group, respectively. In conclusion, this study is the large scale survey of canine D. immitis antigen, A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi, and E. canis antibodies in the Daejeon city and Kangwon province, and it provides an useful reference for clinicians.