Dental health care workers (DHCW) are at a risk of occupational exposure to Helicobacter pylori from the aerosolized oral biofilms and saliva of patients. We designed this study to investigate the prevalence of H. pylori in the oral biofilms of a group of dental and non-dental undergraduates from Sri Lanka. After obtaining informed consent, oral biofilms were collected from 38 dental undergraduates (19 males and 19 females) undergoing clinical training and 33 non-dental undergraduates (14 males and 19 females). The participants were in the age range of 22–27 years and had healthy periodontium. Total DNA from the oral biofilms were extracted, and H. pylori DNA was detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 16S rRNA gene of H. pylori using JW22-JW23 primers, and the results were confirmed using PCR amplification of H. pylori -urease specific HPU1-HPU2 primers. Out of 71 participants, 11 (28.95%) dental and 3 (9.09%) non-dental undergraduates had H. pylori in their oral biofilms indicating an overall prevalence rate of 19.72% (14/71). Thus, the prevalence of H. pylori in oral biofilms was significantly higher in dental undergraduates than in non-dental undergraduates (p < 0.05). An odds ratio of 4.07 indicated that dental undergraduates were four times more likely to harbor H. pylori in their oral biofilms than nondental undergraduates. Foregoing data support the fact that there may be greater occupational risk of exposure to H. pylori for dental undergraduates during clinical training than that for non-dental undergraduates, warranting meticulous infection control practices during clinical dentistry.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli는 신생 및 이유기 돼지 설사의 주요 원인체로서 전세계적으로 양돈산업에 큰 경제적 손실을 끼치고 있다. 그러나 현재 국내에는 이러한 E. coli가 보유하는 다양한 병원성유전자의 분포 및 특성에 대한 정보가 부족한 실정이다. 이에 본 연구에서는 2013년부터 2016년까지 국내 163개 양돈농장에서 이유기 설사증 개체로부터 면봉스왑 샘플을 채취하여 동일 농장의 개체일 경우 5개에서 10개 정도를 혼합한 후, MacConkey agar에 배양하여 최종 API 32E system을 통하여 동정하였다. 분리된 모든 균주에 대해서 3가지의 다른 multiplex PCR을 수행하여 총 13종의 병원성유전자의 분포를 확인하였다. 이를 통하여 총 172개의 최소 한가지 이상의 병원성 유전자를 가지는 E. coli 균주를 확인하였고, 그 결과 병원성 유전자의 분포는 (1) fimbrial adhesins (43.0%): F4 (16.9%), F5 (4.1%), F6 (1.7%), F18 (21.5%), and F41 (3.5%); (2) toxins (90.1%): LT (19.2%), STa (20.9%), STb (25.6%), Stx2e (15.1%), EAST1 (48.3%); and (3) nonfimbrial adhesin (19.6%): EAE (14.0%), AIDA-1 (11.6%) and PAA (8.7%)로 나타났다. 결론적으로 본 연구결과는 국내 양돈농장의 이유기 설사증에 관연하는 E. coli는 다양한 종류의 병원성 유전자를 가지고 있으며 그러한 병원성 유전자의 조합도 매우 다양하게 분포하고 있음을 나타낸다.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence, toxin gene profiles, and enterotoxin producing ability of Bacillus cereus isolated from environment-friendly vegetables and good agricultural practices (GAP) vegetables. A total of 49 vegetables including 40 environment-friendly vegetables and 9 GAP vegetables were tested. The Vitek 2 system was used to identify B. cereus and the PCR was used to detect 6 toxin genes, respectively. B. cereus was detected in 34 (69.3%) of 49 vegetables and the prevalence of B. cereus in GAP vegetables (44.4%) was lower than in the environment-friendly vegetables (75.0%). The detection rates of entFM, nheA, hblC, and cytK enterotoxin genes, respectively, among all isolates were 100%, 97.0%, 88.2%, and 73.5%, respectively. All of the isolates had at least one or more enterotoxin gene and 20 isolates (58.8%) had hemolysin BL enterotoxin producing ability. The risk of food poisoning from the environment-friendly vegetables and the GAP vegetables has been shown as constant. Thus, it is necessary to expand the supply of GAP vegetables showing lower B. cereus contamination than the environment-friendly vegetables. The characteristics of the environment-friendly vegetables and the GAP vegetables that must be consumed after cleaning should be disseminated to consumers regarding food poisoning prevention.

This study aimed to evaluate dietary behaviors and food allergy status of preschool children in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan city. The survey included 592 preschool children aged 1-5 years old in 31 childcare facilities. General characteristics, feeding type, complementary feeding, food allergy, dietary behaviors based on the NQ-P questionnaire, and dietary habits of their family were considered. Exclusively breast-fed children was 32.2% of the subjects and the breast feeding duration was 6.5 months. Subjects who had complementary feeding within 6 months was 77.2% and starting time of complementary feeding was 6.1 months. Fifteen percent of the subjects had food allergies and foods that induced allergy were instant foods, eggs, milk and dairy products, nuts, seafood. Food allergy was not related to breast feeding nor complementary feeding. The NQ-P score and its 3 factors including ‘balance’, ‘moderation’, and ‘environment’ were 59.9, 61.1, 56.0, 62.6, respectively. There were positive relations between children’s dietary behaviors and family dietary habits such as breakfast eating frequency and meal regularity. As age of children increased, instant food intake increased and breakfast eating frequency decreased. Proper nutrition education is needed to children, their parents, and their care givers at childcare facilities to improve children’s dietary behavior and health.

본 연구에서는 비브리오 패혈증 예방과 치료에 유용한 항생제를 제시하기 위해 V. vulnificus의 독소유전자 분포와 항생제 내성을 분석하였다. 2015년부터 2017년까지 3년간 전남지역에서 발생한 비브리오 패혈증 환자로부터 분리되어 보관된 18균주와 전남지역에서 채취된 어패류 및 횟집 수족관수에서 분리된 5균주, 총 23균주를 대상으로 하였다. 실험에 사용된 V. vulnificus 23균주 모두 V. vulnificus로 재확인되었다. V. vulnificus 균주의 독소유전자를 분석한 결과, 23균주 중 19균주(82.6%)에서 RtxA 독소 유전자가 확인되었고, 23균주 모두에서 viuB와 vvhA 독소 유전자가 검출되었다. 이러한 결과는 독소유전자의 검출율이 기존 보고에 비해 높은 것이며, 실험에 사용한 모든 V. vulnificus 균주가 1개 이상의 독소유전자를 보유한 것으로 생선회 섭취와 상처를 통한 비브리오 패혈증 감염의 위험성이 상존하고 있었다. 따라서 횟집 종사자 등에 대한 비브리오 패혈증 예방 교육이 필요한 것으로 판단되었다. V. vulnificus에 대한 항생제 내성 실험결과 cefoxitin 항생제에 94.4%가 내성을 나타내었고, chloramphenicol과 tetracycline 등 14종의 항생제에 감수성을 나타내었다. 비브리오 패혈증 치료에 chloramphenicol과 tetracycline 항생제를 사용하는 현 치료법이 유용한 것으로 판단되었다.

2012~2017년까지 강원도 3개 시 ‧ 군(춘천시, 강릉시, 횡성군)에서 채집된 모기는 총 6속 13종, 654,362마리가 채집되었다. 채집된 모기는 분류하여 얼룩날개모기속을 제외하고 종별, 채집일, 채집 장소에 따라 최대 50마리를 1개 실험군으로 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, 염기서열 분석방법으로 플라비바이러스 감염여부를 조사하였다. 채집모기 276,224마리에 대해 7,721개 실험군을 검사한 결과 68개 실험군(0.9%)에서 플라비바이러스 유전자가 검출되었다. 검출된 플라비바이러스의 염기서열 분석결과 4개 실험군은 일본뇌염바이러스 (Japanese encephalitis virus), 64개 실험군은 차오양바이러스(Chaoyang virus)로 확인되었다. 일본뇌염바이러스는 2012년 춘천시에서 채집 된 2,728마리의 빨간집모기 중 1개 실험군, 2013년 횡성군에서 채집된 19마리의 동양집모기 중 1개 실험군, 2017년 춘천시에서 채집된 1,111마리의 빨간집모기 중 1개 실험군, 강릉시에서 채집된 빨간집모기 724마리 중 1개 실험군에서 검출되었다. 검출된 일본뇌염바이러스의 유전형은 모두 Ⅴ형 바이러스였다. 차오양바이러스는 강원도 내에서 6년간 채집된 금빛숲모기 232,871마리, 5,055개 실험군을 대상으로 검사한 결과 63 개 실험군에서 검출되었으며, 춘천지역에서 채집된 빨간집모기 585개 실험군 중 1개 실험군에서 검출되었다. 채집지역별 금빛숲모기의 차오양 바이러스 감염률이 가장 높은 지역은 MIR (최소감염률) 0.32, MLE (최대우도법) 0.33 (CI 0.23~0.46) 감염률을 보인 춘천시였다. 그 뒤로 횡성군 MIR 0.30, MLE 0.30 (CI 0.16~0.52)과 강릉시 MIR 0.21, MLE 0.21 (CI 0.13~0.31)순이었다. 월별 금빛숲모기의 차오양바이러스 감염률은 10월에 MIR 0.38, MLE 0.38 (CI 0.07~1.25)로 가장 높은 감염률을 나타내었다.

A seasonal chigger-borne disease surveillance program was established at Geoje from March to November of 2018 in Gyeongnam Province, Republic of Korea. Two species of 84 wild rodents were collected by using Sherman traps for Geoje in 2018. Chigger mites were collected from the live-captured rodents to figure out seasonal prevalence of mite species and to identify chigger-borne pathogens. A total of 4,611 chiggers were collected from two species of the rodents in 2018. The chigger mites were collected mainly from A. agrarius (Chigger Index; CI 68.3). A vector of scrub typhus, Leptotrombidium orientale was predominant species (CI 14.9, Species Ratio; SR 27.2%) followed by L. pallidium (CI 14.2, SR 25.9%) and L. scutellare (CI 13.2, SR 24.2%) in 2018. In the results of the isolation of Orientia tsutsugamushi from the chigger mites, no pathogens detected from the DNA of the 171 pools of the mites in 2018, using a Polymerase Chain Reaction method.

Surveillance of the vectors were conducted at a total of 7 locations from March to November, 2018 in Gyeongnam province. In the surveillance, a total of 13 species belonging to seven genera were collected in a total of 15,935 females and 126.5/trap/night (TI; Trap Index) in 2018. Among the collection sites, a bird refuge in Busan, Eulsukdo recorded the highest TI 230.4 (Species Ratio; SR 60.1%) for Cx. tritaeniorhynchus females in 2018. A Cx. tritaeniorhynchus female collected firstly for 2018 in the nation at the pigsty of Busan at 1st April. In the results of isolation of viral RNA from 12 mosquito species including Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. pipiens, Ae. vexans, Ae. albopictus, and Oc. togoi. Chaoyang virus was positive at a pool of Ar. subalbatus collected at a bird refuge but negative in the other 543 pools (14,295 individuals) in 2018.

Poultry play an important role in meeting the protein demand through the supply of chicken meat and eggs, and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria can be transmitted from poultry to humans through the food chain. In this study, 716 E. coli isolates were collected from poultry industry in Korea during the period from 2016-2018. Among the cephalosporin antimicrobial, the rate of resistance to first-cephalosporins (cefazolin and cephalexin) was more than 18.0% but secondcephalosporins (cefoxitin and cefuroxime) and four-cephalosporins (cefepime) was less than 10.0%, without any differences based on the poultry. In quinolone antimicrobial, the rate of resistance to nalidixic acid was more than 46.0% in all poultry but ciprofloxacin was more than 44.0% in broiler farm and chicken meat and less than 18.0% in layer farm and egg. In addition, the rate of resistance to ampicillin and tetracycline was more than 30.0% without any differences in poultry, but the rate of resistance to amoxicillin - clavulanate, trimethoprim - sulfamethoxazole, imipenem and gentamicin was higher in broiler farm and chicken meat than in layer farm and egg. MDR was detected in 120 (60.6%), 113 (79.6%), 80 (37.0%), and 75 (46.9%) isolates from broiler farm, chicken meat, layer farm, and egg, respectively, with an overall prevalence of 54.2% (388/716).

Allomyrina dichotoma (order Coleoptera, family Scarabaeidae) is used for development of pharmaceuticals, pet or educational purposes and animal feedstuffs. The disease occurrence and distribution of Oryctes rhinoceros Nudivirus were investigated in Allomyrina dichotoma in Korea using PCR and analyzed the DNA seqeunces using BLAST(Basic Local Alignment Search Tool). The virus infected larvae were collected from 10 insect rearing farms in five different regions (Gyounggi, Chungbuk, Chungnam, Jeonnam, Daejeon). Frequency of OrNV virus infection appeared differently depending on the regions or rearing facilities (open field, vinyl house, indoor breeding system and etc.). The collected samples of Allomyrina dichotoma raised on open fields showed the highest possibilities of OrNV virus infection. The OrNV average infection rate of open fields rearing systems was 50.0%.

In Korea, ecological research on the goral is underway to restore and increase population size of these ungulates, but clinical research on gorals species is still in its infancy. Owing to the nature of the gorals’ habitat, several animals live together within limited areas; so, the risk of parasitic infection is very high. In this study, we performed physical examination of 17 gorals undergoing breeding and restoration at the Korean Goral Restoration Center. Weight, ear height, horn length, withers height of the anthropometric data of this study were no differences from other researchers. Blood samples from each species were analyzed. There was no significant difference among individuals in terms each value examined, although some hematological and biochemical values, such as neutrophils, lymphocytes, glucose and amylase showed differences among individuals. The average values of blood tests in gorals ware lower in lymphocytes, blood urea nitrogen, and calcium than in livestock goats, and hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and glucose were higher in livestock. Helminth eggs were detected in 15 out of 17 gorals by microscopic examination of their fecal samples, and Eimeria spp. and Strongyloides spp. were detected in all the gorals. However, there may be cases of death due to diarrhea, which may lead to a decrease in growth and production. Therefore, proper prevention and treatment are needed. These results may serve as an important reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of gorals. This information helps further understand the current health status of these species and may contribute to a more systematic restoration of the gorals.

To solve the problem of raw milk surplus, the Korean government encouraged the farmstead milk processing industry. However, the hygiene of farmstead dairy products has not been evaluated. Therefore, the microbiological analysis of farmstead cheeses was performed in this study. Farmstead cheeses (Berg, Colby, Cottage, Gouda, Mozzarella, String, Tilsiter, and Quark) were purchased from 16 dairy farms. In qualitative analysis, the presence of foodborne pathogens (Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter spp.) were examined. Also, total aerobic bacteria, Pseudomonas spp., coliform, and E. coli, and yeast/mold were enumerated. Seventeen samples (37.8%) of 45 farmstead cheeses were contaminated with B. cereus and the highest detection rate was observed in String cheese. Two samples (4.4%) were E. coli positive and seven samples (15.6%) were S. aureus positive. Four other foodborne pathogens were not detected in all farmstead cheeses. Also, the mean levels of total aerobic bacteria, coliform, E. coli, and yeast/mold were 4.3 Log CFU/g, 1.4 Log CFU/g, 1.1 Log CFU/g, and 3.8 Log CFU/g, respectively. These results indicate that the food safety of farmstead cheese is extremely poor and, thus, the hygiene management of farmstead cheese should be improved to provide safe farmstead cheese to consumers.