• Infection and chemotherapy
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.346-349
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• 2018

In 2015, rapid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing was implemented in all 25 public health centers in Seoul. During March and December 2015, 20,987 rapid HIV tests were performed, of which 116 (0.5%) were positive. Compared to those of the period before application of the rapid HIV test in place of conventional enzyme immunoassay method, the number of HIV tests performed and the number of positive results increased by sevenfold and twofold, respectively. In conclusion, expansion of the provision of rapid HIV tests in public health centers increased the number of voluntary HIV tests.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.1.1-1.4
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• 2023

Several outbreaks of Getah virus (GETV) have been reported in horses and pigs, causing large economic losses. However, there have been no reports describing serological survey for GETV in South Korea pigs. The present study conducted serological survey of GETV in South Korean pigs. A total of 670 whole blood samples were collected from domestic pigs. The overall seropositive rate was 26.4%, higher than the rates observed in racehorses in 2013-2014. Preparations for epidemics of novel diseases caused by climate change should include regular serological survey for these diseases, including GETV, and the development of vaccines against novel pathogens.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2014

Purpose: This study aimed at determining the detection rate of respiratory viruses and at investigating the risk factors associated with respiratory virus detection in young infants. Methods: From September 2011 to August 2012, nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained from 227 infants aged ${\leq}90$ days with suspected infectious diseases, including sepsis. We performed a retrospective analysis of their clinical characteristics. The prevalence of respiratory viruses in their nasopharyngeal swabs was assayed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). Results: In total, 157 (69.2%) infants had more than one of the following respiratory viruses: respiratory syncytial virus (n=75), rhinovirus (n=42), influenza virus (n=18), parainfluenza virus (n=15), human metapneumovirus (n=9), coronavirus (n=9), adenovirus (n=4), and bocavirus (n=3). During the same period, bacterial infections were confirmed in 24 infants (10.6%). The detection of respiratory viruses was significantly associated with the presence of cough, a family history of respiratory illness, and a seasonal preference (fall/winter). Using logistic regression analysis, these 3 variables were also identified as significant risk factors. During fall and winter, detection of respiratory viruses was significantly higher in infants who did not have a bacterial infection. Conclusion: Respiratory virus is an important pathogen in young infants admitted to a hospital, who are suspected with infectious diseases. Detection of respiratory viruses in young infants was associated with seasonality (fall/winter), presence of respiratory symptoms and a family history of respiratory illness.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.377-382
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• 1998

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), scrub typhus, murine typhus and leptospirosis have been the principal acute febrile diseases in Korea. To evaluate the seroepidemiologic patterns of acute febrile illness, sera collected from 2,423 patients in 1996 were examined for antibodies against Hantaan virus, Orientia tsutsugamushi, Rickettsia typhi, and Borrelia burgdorferi by indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique (IFA) and macroscopic agglutination test for Leptospira interogans. Seropositive cases against Otsutsugamushi, Rickettsia typhi, Leptospira interogans and Hantaan virus were 192 (7.9%), 193 (8.0%), 12 (0.5%) and 324 (13.4%), respectively. Male was more affected in HFRS and murine typhus contrasting to scrub typhus and leptospirosis in female. Most positive cases occurred during October and November for scrub typhus, and during November and December for HFRS. These results showed similar patterns with previous epidemical data for recent couple of years, and possibly implied no significant changes occurred in ecologic situations for acute febrile diseases in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 2022

African swine fever (ASF) is a fatal viral disease in pigs, with a short incubation period and causing immediate death. Few studies exist on the Asian epidemic ASF virus (ASFV) challenge in older pigs, including growing and fattening pigs and sows. We aimed to investigate clinical outcomes, pathomorphological lesions, and viral distribution in organs of 3-month-old growing pigs that were inoculated with the ASFV isolated in Vietnam. The clinical outcomes were recorded daily, and the dead or euthanized pigs immediately underwent necropsy. Viral loads were determined in 10 major organs using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The average incubation period in growing pigs was more delayed (5.2±0.9 dpi) than that in weaned pigs, and the clinical signs were milder in growing pigs than in weaned pigs. The digestive and respiratory clinical signs in growing pigs showed at the end period of life, but these were observed at an early stage of infection in weaned pigs. The pathomorphological features were severe and nonspecific with hemorrhagic lesions in various organs. The viral loads in organs from growing pigs were higher than those from piglets, and the number of viral copies was related to gross lesions in the tonsil and intestine. In the absence of vaccines against ASF, early clinical detection is important for preventing the spread of the virus. Our findings elucidated that the clinical signs and gross lesions in growing pigs differed from those in weaned pigs, which provide valuable information for diagnosis of pigs with suspected ASF infection.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.204-211
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• 2024

With recent advances in adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy, efficacy and toxicity screening have become essential for developing gene therapeutic drugs for retinal diseases. Retinal organoids from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) offer a more accessible and reproducible human test platform for evaluating AAV-based gene therapy. In this study, hPSCs were differentiated into retinal organoids composed of various types of retinal cells. The transduction efficiencies of AAV2 and AAV8, which are widely used in clinical trials of inherited retinal diseases, were analyzed using retinal organoids. These results suggest that retinal organoids derived from hPSCs serve as suitable screening platforms owing to their diverse retinal cell types and similarity to the human retina. In summary, we propose an optimal stepwise protocol that includes the generation of retinal organoids and analysis of AAV transduction efficacy, providing a comprehensive approach for evaluating AAV-based gene therapy for retinal diseases.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 1996

The methods that make Hantavirus grow consist of inoculation into the experimental animals and cultured cells. The cultured cells, such as Vero-E6 and A549 cells, have been usually used for isolation of the virus and the animals, such as mice and rats, are used for large scale preparation of the virus so far. Furthermore, the cell can be used to maintain the virus and assay the infectivity and the animals can be used for the experiment of viral pathogenicity and challenge for assessment of vaccine. Apodemus mice, the own natural host of the virus, has been used for challenge test of Hantaan virus. However it has been pointed out to difficult handling and breeding the animal in laboratory. Therefore, we attempted to establish a new animal model for challenge test at the time of isolation of Maaji virus which is a new hantavirus similar but distinct to Hantaan virus. In suckling hamster, the titer of Maaji virus and the lethality to mice of the virus were increased gradually in the titer and lethality through passage by intracerebral (IC) inoculation. We tried to re-adapt this brain virus to lung of weanling hamster. The brain passaged virus was inoculated into weanling hamster intramuscularly. Again, the titer of the virus in lung was also increased by continuous passage of this virus. This facts could regarded as adaptation to new environment in which the virus proliferates. To identity the virus passaged in hamster with Maaji virus, both of the virus passaged in hamster brain and lung were compared with Maaji virus (MAA-I) and Hantaan virus (HTN 76-118) by means of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and slingle strand conformation polymophism (SSCP). As a result, we conclude that Maaji virus could be adapted successfully to weanling hamster through this passage strategy. Utilizing this adapted Maaji virus strain, hamster model is able to be used for challenge test in hantaviral vaccinology and further experiments utilizing hamster system as a rather available and convenient lab animal are expected.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.451-458
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• 2013

Human immunodeficiency virus is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is defined in terms of "either the occurrence of specific diseases in association with a HIV infection or a CD4 cell count below 200cells/ul" by centers for disease control and prevention(CDC). When performing the surgery of human immunodeficiency virus infected patients, several factors should be considered. First, standard precautions should be performed to prevent infection. It is safe to treat human immunodeficiency virus infected patients if we follow the standard precautions. Second, when making a surgical plan, surgeons have to take account of delayed bone healing and postsurgical infection. This case report presents a case of orthognathic surgery of human immunodeficiency virus infected patient.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.335-340
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• 2023

During normal physiological and abnormal pathophysiological conditions, all cells release membrane vesicles, termed extracellular vesicles (EVs). Growing evidence has revealed that EVs act as important messengers in intercellular communication. EVs play emerging roles in cellular responses and the modulation of immune responses during virus infection. EVs contribute to triggering antiviral responses to restrict virus infection and replication. Conversely, the role of EVs in the facilitation of virus spread and pathogenesis has been widely documented. Depending on the cell of origin, EVs carry effector functions from one cell to the other by horizontal transfer of their bioactive cargoes, including DNA, RNA, proteins, lipids, and metabolites. The diverse constituents of EVs can reflect the altered states of cells or tissues during virus infection, thereby offering a diagnostic readout. The exchanges of cellular and/or viral components by EVs can inform the therapeutic potential of EVs for infectious diseases. This review discusses recent advances of EVs to explore the complex roles of EVs during virus infection and their therapeutic potential, focusing on HIV-1.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.38-42
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• 2018

Demand for tomatoes has been increasing every year as people desire more healthy food. In Korea, tomatoes are mainly grown in the Chungnam, Chunnam and Kyungnam provinces. Recently, reports of whitefly-transmitted viral diseases have increased due to newly emerging whitefly pressures caused by climate change in Korea. Specifically, in 2017, the main tomato growing areas, Buyeo and Nonsan in Chungnam, showed damage typical of viral infection; therefore, we investigated viral diseases in these areas. We collected samples with virus-like symptoms and found that not only whitefly transmitted Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) were detected but also Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV, for which no specific vector is known) and Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV, transmitted by thrips). The ToMV-infected samples were mostly co-infected with either TYLCV or ToCV. Mixed infections of different combinations of TYLCV, ToCV and ToMV were detected with the mixed infection of two whitefly-transmitted viruses (TYLCV and ToCV) causing the most severe symptoms. According to the CP sequence of each virus, the 100% identities were shown to be Mexico/ABG73017.1 (TYLCV), Greece/CDG34553.1 (ToCV), China/AKN79752 (TSWV), and Australia/NP078449.1 (ToMV). Based on the sequence data, we presumed that these tomato infecting viruses were transmitted through insects and seeds introduced from neighboring countries.