• Title/Summary/Keyword: epidemic

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An Epidemiologic Investigation on an Outbreak of Anthrax Occurred in Kyongju by Eating Dead Cow's Meat (경주시 배반동에서 발생한 탄저병에 관한 역학조사)

  • Lim, Hyun-Sul;Cheong, Hae-Kwan;Kim, Joung-Soon;Ohr, Hee-Choul;Rhie, Dong-Mo;Kim, Ho-Hoon
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.27 no.4 s.48
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    • pp.693-709
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    • 1994
  • This epidemiologic study was carried out to investigate cauuse and magnitude of food-poisoning like epidemic occurred among inhabitants of a village who have eaten dead cow's meat near Kyongju in February of 1994, around lunar new year, The investigation consisted of interview survey on all inhabitants of 77 households (111 males and 119 females) and their visitors (40 males and 35 females), skin test with anthraxinum (Russian product), study on clinical characteristics for the patients hospitalized, and microbiologic examination on microbes isolated from cow's meat, patient and soils of dead cow's barn. The results obtained are as followings; 1. The proportion of the inhabitants who ingested the dead cow's meat was 36.4%. The incidence rate of the disease was 65.1% for males, 41.7% for females and the cases were distributed evenly for all age groups. The group ingested raw meat showed higher incidence than the group ingested cooked meat. There was no case among people who did not eat the meat. 2. The most clinical symptoms were significantly more frequent among cases than non-cases : sore throat (57%), nausea (51%), fever (47%), indigestion (43%), cough (41%), anorexia (41%), abdominal distention (41%), and abdominal pain (39%) were the major symptoms among cases. 3. Among 29 cases hospitalized out of total 61 cases, three patients, all old and feeble persons, deceased from the disease resulting in 4.9% fatality rate among total patient and 10.3% among hospitalized. Septicemia and meningitis were the causes of the deaths. 4. Three strains isolated from patients, and three strains from dead cow's meat and soil revealed typical microbiologic characteristics of Bacillus Anthracis, which also proved to be fatal to experimentally infected mice.

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The amendment tendency analysis of the Korean Infectious Disease Prevention Act and a recommendation for the next amendment (전염병관리 관련법령의 변화 추이분석 및 향후 개정방향에 관한 연구)

  • Whang, Chang-Yong;Ohrr, Hee-Choul;Lee, Duk-Hyoung;Park, Ki-Dong;Lee, Jong-Koo
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.31 no.3 s.62
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    • pp.540-563
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    • 1998
  • This Study has been carried out to make a recommendation for the next amendment of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act with a specific focus on the kind of notifyable disease. Korean, Japanese, German, U.S, English and French acts on infectious diseases prevention were reviewed, compared with and analized in regards of numbers and kinds of notifyable infectious diseases and their tendency of amendments. An criteria was designed to assess the level of validity of diseases to be designated in the act. Four items, the fatality (greater than 10% or not), the possibility to make a big epidemic, the availability of efficient vaccination and the usefulness of isolation, are used in the assessment. This index is applied to the diseases in Korean and other countries' Infectious Disease Prevention Acts. Results are as follows: 1. The Korean Infectious Disease Preventon Act has a unique way of classifying the notifyable infectious disease, that is, the first, the second and the third class. But the author cannot find the basis of classification. No other countries reviewed have the similar classification. 2. The ten diseases, cholera, plague, yellow fever, diphtheria, typhoid fever, poliomyelitis, rabies, tetanus, malaria, and meningococcal meningitis are designated as the notifyable diseases not only in Korea but also in Japan, Germany, United States, England and france. 3. Thirty seven diseases including small pox, Lassa fever, anthrax, influenza, German measles, Legionellosis, infection with E. coli O157:H7, Q-fever, brucellosis, Lyme disease are designated as legal disease at least one of the above mentioned countries. 4. The Korea has been coped with the change of the infectious disease occurrence for last fifty years in amendment of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act. 5. Japan has a special infectious surveillance system composed of 3,880 clinics throughout the whole country. 6. Germany has classified infectious diseases in five categories which are based on seriousness of disease. Any confirmed death, cases and suspected cases in class I should be reported within 24 hours. But only confirmed death and cases in class II, but not suspected cases, are reportable in Germarny. 7. Plague, bacillary dysentery, pertussis, mumps, Japanese encephaltis and Korean hemorrhagic fevers are diseases with high credits validity index among Korean legal disease. 8. German measles, anthrax, E. coli O157 : H7 infection, Lassa fever, Q-fever, brucellosis are high in validity index among those which are not designated in Korea but designated in other countries. In conclusion, the Korean Infectious Disease Prevention Act has well been coped with the changes of infectious disease occurrence for last fifty years, but the classification basis and the validity of diseases to be designated as legal diseases is worth reevaluating.

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Infection patterns of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus by serological analysis on a farm level (혈청학적 분석을 통한 돼지 생식기호흡기증후군의 농장단위 감염유형)

  • Park, Choi-Kyu;Yoon, Ha-Chung;Lee, Chang-Hee;Jung, Byeong-Yeal;Lee, Kyoung-Ki;Kim, Hyun-Soo
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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    • v.48 no.1
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    • pp.67-73
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    • 2008
  • Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is the most economically important viral infectious disease in pig populations worldwide. This study was conducted to better understand the epidemic and dynamics of PRRS virus (PRRSV) on each farm and to evaluate the risk of PRRSV infection in Korea. Interviews with pig farmers were carried out to obtain PRRS vaccination programmes in 60 pig farms throughout Korea. Blood samples were also collected from the 59 pig farms to investigate outbreak patterns of each farm. Vaccination against PRRS was performed in 16.7% farms for breeding pigs and 8.3% of farms for nursery pigs. According to the seroepidemiological analysis, 56 (94.9%) out of 59 farms were considered to be affected by PRRSV infection. The results revealed that 68.9% of sows tested were seroconverted and interestingly, gilt herds had the highest seropositive rate (73%), suggesting that gilts may play a key role in PRRSV transmission in sow herds. Among the PRRS-affected piglet herds, 33 (55.9%), 14 (23.7%) and 6 (10.2%) farms were initially infected with PRRSV during the weaning, suckling and nursery period, respectively. It seems likely, therefore, that PRRSV infection predominantly occurs around the weaning period in piglet herds. Based on antibody seroprevalence levels in both sow and piglet groups, we were able to classify patterns of PRRSV infection per farm unit into 4 categories; category 1 (stable sow groups and non-infected piglet groups), category 2 (unstable sow groups and non-infected piglet groups), category 3 (stable sow groups and infected piglet groups), and category 4 (unstable sow groups and infected piglet groups). Our data suggested that 43 (72.9%) farms were analysed to belong to category 4, which is considered to be at high-risk for PRRS outbreak. Taken together, our information from this study will provide insight into the establishment of an effective control strategy for PRRS on the field.

Child health promotion program in South Korea in collaboration with US National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Improvement in dietary and nutrition knowledge of young children

  • Lim, Hyunjung;Kim, JiEun;Wang, Youfa;Min, Jungwon;Carvajal, Nubia A.;Lloyd, Charles W.
    • Nutrition Research and Practice
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    • v.10 no.5
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    • pp.555-562
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    • 2016
  • BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Childhood obesity has become a global epidemic. Development of effective and sustainable programs to promote healthy behaviors from a young age is important. This study developed and tested an intervention program designed to promote healthy eating and physical activity among young children in South Korea by adaptation of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mission X (MX) Program. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The intervention program consisted of 4 weeks of fitness and 2 weeks of nutrition education. A sample of 104 subjects completed pre- and post- surveys on the Children's Nutrition Acknowledgement Test (NAT). Parents were asked for their children's characteristics and two 24-hour dietary records, the Nutrition Quotient (NQ) at baseline and a 6-week follow-up. Child weight status was assessed using Korean body mass index (BMI) percentiles. RESULTS: At baseline, 16.4% (boy: 15.4%; girl: 19.2%) of subjects were overweight or obese (based on $BMI{\geq}85%tile$). Fat consumption significantly decreased in normal BMI children ($48.6{\pm}16.8g$ at baseline to $41.9{\pm}18.1g$ after intervention, P < 0.05); total NQ score significantly increased from 66.4 to 67.9 (P < 0.05); total NAT score significantly improved in normal BMI children (74.3 at baseline to 81.9 after the program), children being underweight (from 71.0 to 77.0), and overweight children (77.1 at baseline vs. 88.2 after intervention, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The 6-week South Korean NASA MX project is feasible and shows favorable changes in eating behaviors and nutritional knowledge among young children.

Online Information Sources of Coronavirus Using Webometric Big Data (코로나19 사태와 온라인 정보의 다양성 연구 - 빅데이터를 활용한 글로벌 접근법)

  • Park, Han Woo;Kim, Ji-Eun;Zhu, Yu-Peng
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.21 no.11
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    • pp.728-739
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    • 2020
  • Using webometric big data, this study examines the diversity of online information sources about the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it focuses on some 28 countries where confirmed coronavirus cases occurred in February 2020. In the results, the online visibility of Australia, Canada, and Italy was the highest, based on their producing the most relevant information. There was a statistically significant correlation between the hit counts per country and the frequency of visiting the domains that act as information channels. Interestingly, Japan, China, and Singapore, which had a large number of confirmed cases at that time, were providing web data related to the novel coronavirus. Online sources were classified using an N-tuple helix model. The results showed that government agencies were the largest supplier of coronavirus information in cyberspace. Furthermore, the two-mode network technique revealed that media companies, university hospitals, and public healthcare centers had taken a positive attitude towards online circulation of coronavirus research and epidemic prevention information. However, semantic network analysis showed that health, school, home, and public had high centrality values. This means that people were concerned not only about personal prevention rules caused by the coronavirus outbreak, but also about response plans caused by life inconveniences and operational obstacles.

Rhei Rhizoma Mainly Blended Prescriptions According to the Fomula, Manipulation, Related Co-herb in Dongeuibogam (『동의보감(東醫寶鑑)』 중 대황(大黃)이 주약(主藥)으로 배오(配伍)된 방제(方劑)의 제형(劑形), 포제(?製), 약대구성(藥對構成)에 따른 활용(活用))

  • Joh, Hae-In;Kook, Yoon-Bum
    • Herbal Formula Science
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    • v.25 no.4
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    • pp.553-574
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    • 2017
  • The purpose of this study is to find out effects of prescriptions according to the formula, manipulation of Rhei Rhizoma, configuration. The following results were reached through investigations on the prescriptions using Rhei Rhizoma as a main component. Objectives : Analysis of prescriptions According to the formula : Liquid Extract Prescriptions were used widely on three parts to treat fever and damp heat in the interior organs. Powder Prescriptions were taken with hot water, thin porridge, tea etc. to treat damp heat, congestion of phlegm, acute episodes. Liquid Mixed Pill treat congestion of QI, damp heat, phlegm. Honey Mixed Pill treat accumulated fever, distension, acute excessive fever. Paste Pill treat blood stagnation, excessive toxic-fever, epidemic diseases. External Application treat inflammation by injury, swelling due to severe fever by internal damage. Methods : Analysis of prescriptions According to the manipulation of Rhei Rhizoma : Prescriptions including Liquor processed Rhei Rhizoma treat excessive toxic-fever, congestion of phlegm, blocking orifices on the upper side. Steamed Rhei Rhizoma strengthen effects of making evacuate and cooling of heat. Processed Rhei Rhizoma with vinegar strengthen effects of removing blood stagnation by activating blood movement, releasing gathering. Results : Analysis of prescriptions According to the Composition of Rhei Rhizoma : 41% of the total prescriptions were on the area of less than 20%. In case of lower groups show increased frequency of combination with Pharbitidis Semen, Persicae Semen, Scutellariae Radix and manipulation of baking, steaming, roasting. In case of higher groups show increased frequency of treating excess syndrome, critical illness, acute severe illness, and using proccesed Rhei Rhizoma with vinegar. Treatment of damp heat on the liver and gallbladder, disorder of the spleen and stomach is done mostly by prescriptions on the area of less than 30%. Conclusions : Rhei Rhizoma-Coptidis Rhizoma pair treat damp heat, heat toxins in blood, and Constipation caused by excessive heat. Rhei Rhizoma-Glycyrrhizae Radix pair relieve effects of Rhei Rhizoma passing blocked feces, removing the poison, activating blood movement, releasing gathering with the effects of Glycyrrhizae Radix relaxing tension by harmonizing Middle. Rhei Rhizoma-Magnoliae Cortex pair are used to treat damp heat in middle area, excessive heat in the stomach and intestine. Rhei Rhizoma-Pharbitidis Semen pair act on both blood system and QI system treating edema, damp, stagnation, heat toxins, feces. Rhei Rhizoma-Persicae Semen pair treat blood stagnation with fever on blood system.

Enterovirus 71-associated hand, foot and mouth diseases with neurologic symptoms, a university hospital experience in Korea, 2009

  • Cho, Hye-Kyung;Lee, Na-Yong;Lee, Hyun-Ju;Kim, Hae-Soon;Seo, Jeong-Wan;Hong, Young-Mi;Lee, Seung-Joo;Lee, Sun-Wha;Cheon, Doo-Sung;Hong, Ji-Young;Kang, Byung-Hak;Kim, Jong-Hyun;Kim, Kyung-Hyo
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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    • v.53 no.5
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    • pp.639-643
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    • 2010
  • Purpose: Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness in children, which is usually mild and self-limiting. However, in recent epidemics of HFMD in Asia, enterovirus 71 (EV71) has been recognized as a causative agent with severe neurological symptoms with or without cardiopulmonary involvement. HFMD was epidemic in Korea in the spring of 2009. Severe cases with complications including death have been reported. The clinical characteristics in children with neurologic manifestations of EV71 were studied in Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital. Methods: Examinations for EV71 were performed from the stools, respiratory secretion or CSF of children who presented neurologic symptoms associated with HFMD by realtime PCR. Clinical and radiologic data of the patients were collected and analyzed. Results: EV71 was isolated from the stool of 16 patients but not from respiratory secretion or CSF. Among the 16 patients, meningitis (n=10) was the most common manifestation, followed by Guillain-Barre syndrome (n=3), meningoencephalitis (n=2), poliomyelitis-like paralytic disease (n=1), and myoclonus (n=1). Gene analysis showed that most of them were caused by EV71 subgenotype C4a, which was prevalent in China in 2008. Conclusion: Because EV71 causes severe complications and death in children, a surveillance system to predict upcoming outbreaks should be established and maintained and adequate public health measures are needed to control disease.

Two cabob of natural human infection by Echinostoma hoytense and its second intermediate horst in Wonju area (Echinostoma hortense 인체감염 2예 및 제이중간숙주 조사)

  • 양용석;안영겸
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.23 no.1
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    • pp.33-40
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    • 1985
  • Two cases of human Erhinostoma hortense infection and their probable infection source were identified by prasiqantel (Distocide) treatment of the patients and by examining two kinds of fresh water fish which were eaten raw by them. The result of the research can be summarized as follows: 1. The patients, each aged 31 and 30, were residing in the same house in Wonju City, Kangwon Province. The first case was hospitalized due to epidemic hemorrhagic fever (E.H. fever) and the second case was healthy but had slight degree of abdominal pain and diarrhea from time to time. In the stool examination, eggs of 5. hortense ($114.3{\times}71.0{\mu\textrm{m}}$) average from the first case and $119.1{\times}68.3{\mu\textrm{m}}$ average from the second) were found. By administering single dose of praziquantel (10~15mg/kg) and purgation with magnesium salt to them. sin adults of 5. hortense were collected from the diarrheal stools of the second case. 2. By examining 8:k Moroco oxycephalus and 20 Carassius carassius which were captured at the place where the two patients had captured and eaten the fresh water fish, the metacercariae of Echinostoma sp. were found from 3 (3.5%) M. oxycephalus. 3. After the experimental infection of 3 isolated metacercariae to one albino rat three adults of 5. hortense were recovered. By the present study, the two patients revealing the echinostomatid eggs in their stools were proven to be infected with 5. hortense and to be the second and third human cases of this luke infection in Korea. Mcroco oxycephalus harboured the metacercariae of E. hortense and appeared to be a new second intermediate host.

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The utilization of antibiotics and the treatment of bacterial diseases in fish (항생제 사용과 세균성 어류질병의 치료)

  • Jeong, Hyun-Do;Chun, Seh-Kyu
    • Journal of fish pathology
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    • v.5 no.1
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    • pp.37-48
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    • 1992
  • Antibiotics are chemical substances produced by various species of microorganisms that suppress the growth of other microorganisms or may destroy them. Among the more than 4000 antibiotics that has been identified, about 20s are using as the therapy of infectious fish diseases. There are several methods used to classify and group antibiotics, and the most common classification has been based on chemical structure and proposed mechanism of action. The effect of antibiotics may be determined by the kind of fish pathogens and by the external environment surrounded the infected fish. It implies that the kind of antibiotics and its application method should be decided after the determination of the reasons of fish disease. The uncontrolled usages of antibiotics may induce the selection of resistant mutants appeared spontaneously and present in any group of bacteria. The epidemic spread of such antibiotic resistant strains of fish pathogenic bacteria already has been reported in various districts of japan. Importantly, transferable drug resistant(R) plasmids were detected in strains of most of fish pathogens. Based on those reports, the antimicrobial resistance appears to be a rapidly emerging problem in the fish industry on the country. The expanding literatures on the pharmacokinetics, clinical trials, withdrawal periods and efficacy of environmental effect for the commonly using antibiotics have met the needs of data for the practical application of antibiotics. However, the most important thing for the treatment of fish diseases would be the communication and exchanging of information between the site of aquaculture and the diagnostic laboratory.

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Studies on Physiological Reactions of Soybean Cultivars Tolerant and Susceptible to Rust (Phskopsora pachyrhizi Syd.) (대두 녹병에 대한 내병성 및 이병성 품종의 생리적 반응)

  • 신두철
    • KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.440-446
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    • 1986
  • The physiological reaction of two soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) cultivars tolerant and susceptible to rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi Syd.) was studied at the AVRDC in Taiwan, ROC. The rust epidemic on the susceptible cultivar began earlier and progressed more rapidly than on the tolerant cultivar. The defoliation by rust infection increased rapidly after the latter half of pod filling. The reduction of LA! by rust in the susceptible cultivar occurred earlier than in the tolerant cultivar. The differences in the chlorophyll content between the rust-free and rust-infected plants was 2.04% in the tolerant, and 16.43% in the susceptible cultivar. The shoot dry weight increased at each growth stage in the fungicide protected plots, but decreased in the non-fungicide protected plots after the R6 growth stage onward and the tendency to decrease was more severe in the susceptible than in the tolerant cultivar. The pod and seed dry weight of the suscep-tible cultivar in the fungicide-protected plot increased dramatically from the R6 growth stage, but in the non-fungicide plot, there was almost no increase in pod and seed dry weight from R6 growth stage, due to rust. The number of empty pods and imperfect grains were increased by rust infection, but the protein content was not afftected. There were reductions of oil content, seed length, seed width, seed thickness, pod thickness, number of pods and seeds, 100 seed weight, and yield due to rust infection. The yield losses by rust infection were 22.3%in the tolerant and 68.7% in the susceptible cultivar.

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