Infection Status of Endoparasites in Foreigner Workers Living in Cheonan City, Chungnam Province, Korea

At present, more than 500,000 foreigner workers, most of them from Asian countries with high parasitic infection rates, are working in Korea. Since investigation into the prevalence of parasitic infections in foreigner workers has not yet been conducted in Korea, the present study was performed to determine the parasitic infection status of foreigner workers living in Cheonan City, Chungcheongnam-do (Chungnam Province) and to plan, on that basis, effective control measures. From October to December 2013, the parasitic infection status of 231 foreigner workers employed at selected Cheonan-si small businesses was investigated by both stool examination and ELISA. A total of 60 individuals (26.0%) were found to be infected with parasites. The stool examination detected 14 positive cases (6.1%), and ELISA revealed 50 positive people (21.6%), for at least a kind of parasitic disease. The most common infection was cysticercosis (8.7%), followed by toxocariasis (7.8%) and clonorchiasis (7.4%). Since it was proved that parasitic infections were prevalent among foreigner workers living in Cheonan City, more comprehensive study is urgently needed in order to understand the nationwide status of parasitic infections in foreigner workers.

Sensitization rate to Tetranychus urticae in patients visiting the allergy clinic in Cheonan area / 천식및알레르기

BACKGROUND: Tetranychus urticae (two spotted spider mite, TSM) is considered to be an important outdoor allergen, especially among farmers as an occupational allergen. TSM may be an important allergen in Cheonan area because this area is surrounded by many pear orchards where TSM is commonly found. OBJECTIVES: To determine the sensitization rate to TSM in Cheonan area. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rates of sensitization to common inhalant allergens were analyzed in the 456 patients who visited the allergy clinic in Dankook University Hospital, and skin prick tests were done with 55 common inhalent allergens and TSM extract. RESULTS: The sensitization rate to Dermatophagoides farinae (37.7%) was highest followed by TSM (29.6%) and 25 (5.5%) patients were sensitized to TSM only. Sensitization rate to TSM was the highest in the third and fourth decades. Up to 50% of asthmatics aggravated during the summer season were sensitized to TSM. CONCLUSION: TSM was the second most common sensitized allergen in patients visiting the allergy clinic in Cheonan area. These results suggest that TSM must be an important outdoor allergen in rural areas.