• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.56-63
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• 2023

In this study, two cases of food poisoning caused by Salmonella that occurred in Gyeongsangnam-do in September 2021 are reported. One of the outbreaks occurred in a school and the other in a company. The molecular epidemiological characteristics of the isolated strains in the two outbreaks were analyzed. In the case of the school outbreak, 29 (4.9%) of 588 individuals experienced diarrhea and abdominal pain. As a result of a test of 36 individuals (patients, n=29; cook workers, n=7), Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis was detected in 17 (47.2%) patients, suggesting this serotype was the principal cause. Meanwhile, Salmonella spp. were not detected in 35 food and environmental samples. In the company outbreak, 87 (3.0%) of 2,900 individuals who had intaked from the same source experienced diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. In a test of 50 individuals (patients, n=40; cook workers, n=10), S. Enteritidis was detected in 28 patients (56.0%). Also, Vibrio cholerae (NAG) was detected in four patients with S. Enteritidis, and V. cholerae (NAG) only was detected in one patient. Salmonella spp. were not detected in 118 preserved foods, but S. Enteritidis was detected in one eaten food (toast) delivered in group by the company. Through PFGE genetic homology analysis of the isolated strains, all S. Enteritidis detected in patients and consumed foods were the same type. It seems that these S. Enteritidis isolates were the same type as detected in a previous school outbreak and in patients of group food poisoning in other regions, leading to an enhanced problem of food poisoning and epidemiology. Our analytic results can provide data for epidemiological management and food poisoning prevention based on molecular characteristics.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.65-73
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• 2011

Objects: In July 2 2010, a diarrhea outbreak occurred among the workers in a company in Gyeungju city, Korea. An epidemiological investigation was performed to clarify the cause and transmission route of the outbreak. Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey among 193 persons, and we examined 21 rectal swabs and 6 environmental specimens. We also delegated the Daegu Bukgu public health center to examine 3 food service employees and 5 environmental specimens from the P buffet which served a buffet on June 30. The patient case was defined as a worker of L Corporation and who participated in the company meal service and who had diarrhea more than one time. We also collected the underground water filter of the company on July 23. Results: The attack rate of diarrhea among the employees was 20.3%. The epidemic curve showed that a single exposure peaked on July 1. The relative risk of attendance and non-attendance by date was highest for the lunch of June 30 (35.62; 95% CI, 2.25 to 574.79). There was no specific food that was statistically regarded as the source of the outbreak. $Bacillus$ $cereus$ was cultured from two of the rectal swabs, two of the preserved foods and the underground water filter. We thought the exposure date was lunch of June 30 according the latency period of $B.$ $cereus$. Conclusions: We concluded the route of transmission was infection of dishes, spoons and chopsticks in the lunch buffet of June 30 by the underground water. At the lunch buffet, 50 dishes, 40 spoons, and chopsticks were served as cleaned and wiped with a dishcloth. We thought the underground water contaminated the dishes, spoons, chopsticks and the dishcloth. Those contaminated materials became the cause of this outbreak.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.280-294
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• 2001

Despite to the reality that the outbreaks from flood poisoning in Korea have been continuously increasing in the last two decades, it was very much neglected even in the public health field in Korea. Food poisoning outbreaks resulted in many cases not only in the damage of health but also in the death of many lives. However, this problem can be effectively solved by effects through health education activities, but not solely by the legal measures. This study was carried out to provide information that can be used in planning health education programs and proposing new rules to prevent any possible outbreaks from flood poisoning. The main problems contributing to flood poisoning outbreaks in an institutional setting or school catering and at home were reviewed and analyzed through the epidemiological investigations and articles related to flood poisoning in the last a decade (1991 ∼ 2000). Accordingly, the data presented in this study are sufficient to show and prove the significant trends in food poisoning accidents in Korea. The major findings investigated in this study are as follows. The frequency of food poisoning accidents as well as the number of victims have continuously increased in Korea. The number of victims per food poisoning accident is also increased from 20 persons in 1990 to 69.8 persons in 2000. Therefore, we should realize that the group poisoning outbreaks occur more frequently and the size of group poisoning accidents is getting larger. Among four seasons, the food poisoning accidents occurred more frequently in the summer (May ∼September) until 1997, However, after 1997, the food poisoning accidents occurred evenly in three seasons except the winter. The most important bacteria that cause food poisoning in Korea were Salmonella spp., Vibrio spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. They occupied 85∼90% of the rates of accidents and the number of victims.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 1999

Bovine mastitis was examined by use of the rolling ball viscosity test in Kwang-ju area. Antibiotic sus-ceptibility of isolated pathogens from raw milk was investigated by the disc method. Positive rate of so-matic cell counts (over 500,000 cells/ml) was decreased from 11.1% in 1991∼1993 to 8.0-% in 1995∼1997. Isolated mastitis-causing-pathogens were identified as Staphylococcus sp. (49.7%) Escherichia coki(23.2%) Streptococcus sp. (10.4%) and Bacillus sp(7.2%) Antibiotic susceptibility of isolated pathogens to almost antibiotics was decreased.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.211-216
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• 2003

An epidemic outbreak of food poisoning due to enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli(EHEC) occurred throughout Korea from May to September, 2003. Patients infected via contaminated school lunch foods were found mainly in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. As a result of this food poisoning, 36 patients were diagnosed as hemolytic uremic syndrome(HUS) up to mid-September, 2003 and five of them visited our hospital. Before the outbreak this year, we had experienced only 23 cases of HUS, including diarrhea associated (D+) and atypical (D-) forms, for the last 14 years, and there had been no case with pancreatic enzyme elevation. Unlike the past HUS cases, those of this year presented with severe abdominal pain and spiking elevation of pancreatic enzyme levels in 2 cases. We report 2 cases of transient pancreatitis combined with HUS in children during the epidemic outbreak in 2003 with a brief review of related literatures.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.61-67
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• 2015

Norovirus is a major cause of viral gastroenteritis and a common cause of foodborne and waterborne outbreaks. Norovirus outbreaks are responsible for economic losses, most notably to the public health and food industry field. Norovirus has characteristics such as low infectious dose, prolonged shedding period, strong stability, great diversity, and frequent genome mutations. Besides these characteristics, they are known for rapid and extensive spread in closed settings such as hospitals, hotels, and schools. Norovirus is well known as a major agent of food-poisoning in diverse settings in South Korea. For these reasons, nationwide surveillance for norovirus is active in both clinical and environmental settings in South Korea. Recent studies have reported the emergence of variants and novel recombinants of norovirus. In this review, we summarized studies on the molecular epidemiology and nationwide surveillance of norovirus in South Korea. This review will provide information for vaccine development and prediction of new emerging variants of norovirus in South Korea.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.159-167
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• 2001

Staphylocorccus aureus is gram positive, facultatively anaerobic, non-sporulative coccus, and positive for coagulase and DNase. The food-poisoning outbreak of Staphylococcus aureus increases in the world, and third occurrence happened in our country. Of 105 isolates (25.4%) obtained 413 focal samples of food-poisoning suspicious patients. In those cases, the enterotoxins were detected from a total of 45 isolates (42.9%), 9 isolates(20.0%) were A type, 33 isolates (73.3%) were H types, 2 isolates (4.4%) were G type and 1 isolate was a I type enterotoxin. Among the isolates possessing staphylococcal enterotoxins, 29 isolates had H type only(64.4%), 5 isolates had A type only and 4 isolates had both A and H type. Two isolates had G type only and 1 isolate had I type only. In the antibiotic susceptibility, 48 isolates (46%) had at least one antibiotic resistance among 105 isolates, 34 isolates (70.8%) were resistant to penicillin. 1 isolate (2.1%) to ampicillin, 3 isolates (6.3%) to erythromycin and kanamycin. Seven were resistant to more than two antibiotics and especially 1 isolate was resistant to penicillin-ampicillin-nitrofurantoin.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.672-677
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• 2001

There was an outbreak of food poisoning due to eating well-cooked imported tropical fish, Stromateus stellatus on May, 2000, in Korea. Gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea ($92\%$), nausea ($77\%$), abdominal pain ($54\%$), vomiting ($46\%$) and headache ($23\%$) were experienced within $0.5\~2$ hours (median 1 hour) after eating, Any specific natural toxins were not confirmed concerned to those poisoning, but large amount of abnormal lipid ($23\%$) was found from the muscle such as 1-O-diacyl glyceryl ethers (DAGE), which was consisted of $61.8\%$ of total lipid. The 16:0 ($66.3\%$) and 18:1 ($15.8\%$) alkyl chains were dominant in all alkyl chains of DAGE which were presumed as the causative agent for the diarrheal food poisoning. O1eic acid (18:1) was found as a major fatty acid at the sn-2 or 3 in DAGEs. O-16:0-18:1-18:1 ($16.2\%$),O-16:0-18:1-22:1 ($14.7\%$) and O-18:0-18:1-22:1 ($11.0\%$) were contained as the major molecular species of DAGEs by RI-HPLC.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.60-66
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• 1995

Vibrio cholerae non-O1 and Vibrio mimicus, food poisoning bacteria, have detected frequently in fresh water and brackish water. To estabilsh prevention measures of food poisoning outbreak by these bacteria, the adaptability and population changes were examined in fresh water, brackish water $(10\%o\;NaCl)$ and seawater $(30\%o\;NaCl)$. Both species poorly survived as temperature increased regardless of water types employed. However, survival time was the shortest in fresh water and longest in seawater at $4^{\circ}C$. In case of brackish water, the bacteria survived best at $15^{\circ}C$ and population were varied only in small numbers. Any significant difference was not observed to both species with respect to water types and temperatures except V. mimicus survived about 5-6 days longer in brackish water. In conclusion, V. cholerae non-O1 and V. mimicus were not likely to be recovered In normal fresh water, brackish water and seawater, and both biological and physicochemical factors could affect survival of these species.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.286-297
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• 2016

Clostridium perfringens is both a ubiquitous environmental bacterium and a major cause of human gastrointestinal disease, and C. perfringens food poisoning ranks among the most common gastrointestinal diseases in developed countries. 120 isolates of C. perfringens were obtained from food-poisoning outbreaks in 2013~2014, Gyeonggi-do. Using PCR, all 120 isolates were identified as C. perfringens type A. Of the tested isolates, 49 isolates carried the cpe gene, 71 isolates carried the cpb2 gene. The outbreak cases of cpb2 and cpe /cpb2 genes were 7 and 7, whereas the outbreak cases of cpe-gene were 2. The epidemiological relationship between C. perfringens isolates has previously been investigated chiefly by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). The genetics relatedness of the isolates raged from 53.5-100% and 75 district PFGE type were observed. The PFGE results revealed a wide genetic diversity among the 64 cpb2 carrying isolates (except 7 isolates), while 46 cpe-carrying isolates (except 3 isolates) showed a high genetic similarity. The MLST analysis revealed that 14 cpe isolates (cpe-chromosomal isolates) belong to a distinct cluster that is significantly distant from all the other cpb2 isolates (cpe-plasmid carrying and cpe-negative isolates). The isolates carrying a cpb2 appear to be rarely related, and are more variable than chromosomal cpe isolates. The results suggest that the cpe-positive outbreak isolates showed close genetic relation, whereas the cpb2-positive isolates revealed a wide genetic diversity.