Paleoparasitological Surveys for Detection of Helminth Eggs in Archaeological Sites of Jeolla-do and Jeju-do

A paleoparasitological survey to detect helminth eggs was performed in archaeological sites of Jeolla-do and Jeju-do, the Republic of Korea. Total 593 soil samples were collected in 12 sites of Jeolla-do and 5 sites of Jeju-do from April to November 2011, and examined by the methods of Pike and coworkers. A total of 4 helminth eggs, 2 eggs each for Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris sp., were found in soil samples from 1 site, in Hyangyang-ri, Jangheung-eup, Jangheung-gun, Jeollanam-do. The egg-recovery layer was presumed to represent a 19th century farm, which fact suggested the use of human manures. This is the third archaeological discovery of parasite eggs in Jeolla-do. Additionally, no helminth eggs in archaeological sites of Jeju-do is an interesting problem to be solved in the further investigations.

Serologic Survey of Toxoplasmosis in Seoul and Jeju-do, and a Brief Review of Its Seroprevalence in Korea

Knowledge of the prevalence of human Toxoplasma gondii infection is required in the Republic of Korea. In this study, we surveyed the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and analyzed the risk factors associated with seropositivity among residents in 2 administrative districts; Seoul and the island of Jeju-do, which have contrasting epidemiologic characteristics. Sera and blood collected from 2,150 residents (1,114 in Seoul and 1,036 in Jeju-do) were checked for IgG antibody titers using ELISA and for the T. gondii B1 gene using PCR. In addition, participants completed a questionnaire that solicited information on gender, age, occupation, eating habits, history of contact with animals, and travel abroad. The T. gondii B1 gene was not detected in all residents examined. However, ELISA showed 8.0% (89 of 1,114 sera) positive for IgG antibodies against T. gondii in Seoul and 11.3% (117 of 1,036 sera) in Jeju-do. In both districts, the positive rates were higher in males than in females, and those 40-79 years of age showed higher rates than other ages. In Seoul, residents older than 70 years of age showed the highest positive rate, 14.9%, whereas in Jeju-do the highest prevalence, 15.6%, was in those in their sixties. The higher seropositive rate in Jeju-do than in Seoul may be related to eating habits and occupations. The present results and a review of related literature are indicative of an increased seroprevalence of T. gondii in Korea in recent years.

Discovery of Larval Gnathostoma nipponicum in Frogs and Snakes from Jeju-do (Province), Republic of Korea

A survey was performed to find out the intermediate hosts of Gnathostoma nipponicum in Jeju-do (Province), the Republic of Korea. In August 2009 and 2010, a total of 82 tadpoles, 23 black-spotted pond frogs (Rana nigromaculata), 7 tiger keelback snakes (Rhabdophis tigrinus tigrinus), 6 red-tongue viper snakes (Agkistrodon ussuriensis), and 2 cat snakes (Elaphe dione) were collected in Jeju-do and examined by the pepsin-HCl digestion method. Total 5 gnathostome larvae were detected in 3 (50%) of 6 A. ussuriensis, 70 larvae in 3 of 7 (42.9%) R. tigrinus tigrinus, and 2 larvae in 2 of 82 (8.7%) frogs. No gnathostome larvae were detected in tadpoles and cat snakes. The larvae detected were a single species, and 2.17x0.22 mm in average size. They had characteristic head bulbs, muscular esophagus, and 4 cervical sacs. Three rows of hooklets were arranged in the head bulbs, and the number of hooklets in each row was 29, 33, and 36 posteriorly. All these characters were consistent with the advanced third-stage larvae of G. nipponicum. It has been first confirmed in Jeju-do that R. nigromaculata, A. ussuriensis, and R. tigrinus tigrinus play a role for intermediate and/or paratenic hosts for G. nipponicum.

Molecular Genetic Typing of Legionella pneumophila Strains Isolated in Jejudo, Korea

Twenty two strains of Legionella species isolated from Jejudo, Korea were identified by comparing the rpoB (300 bp), dotA (360 bp), and mip (396 bp) gene sequence analysis. Furthermore, their genotypes were determined by sequence analysis of rpoB/dotA subgroup typing, pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) patterns. Of the 22 isolates, 21 strains were identified as L. pneumophila and 1 strain was close to L. erythra (>95% similarity of rpoB and mip). Most of the L. pneumophila strains (90%) belonged to P-I of rpoB/dotA subgroup typing, one strain of each P-III and P-IV. L. pneumophila isolates were further grouped into 4 and 6 different PFGE (P1 to P4) and RAPD (R1 to R6) patterns, respectively. On the basis of these genotypes, which may be useful for future epidemiological studies, existence of diverse L. pneumophilla population in Jejudo, Korea were observed.

Estimating the Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis in School Students of Jejudo, Korea / 예방의학회지

OBJECTIVES: The frequency of visiting clinics in Jejudo for treating atopic dermatitis (AD) has been reported to be higher than that for other counties of Korea. The aim of this work was to estimate the prevalence of AD for the students of the primary, middle and high schools in Jejudo, Korea. METHODS: We planned to evaluate about 5,000 students, so classes were randomly selected by random systematic sampling methods. The parents of all the students in the selected classes were asked to respond to a structured questionnaire concerned with the prevalence of AD. RESULTS: The prevalence of AD based on ever being diagnosed by a doctor, on currently being diagnosed by a doctor, on ever being treated for AD by a doctor, on currently being treated for AD by a doctor was 25.57% (95% CI=25.3-25.8), 14.67% (95% CI=14.5-14.9), 21.90% (95% CI=21.6-22.2) and 14.41% (95% CI=14.2-14.6), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: On comparing the prevalence of AD, the students in Jejudo had a higher number of recurrence events in spite of their lower number of cases. Further studies are needed to evaluate these aspects of AD.

A Survey of the Controlling System for the Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Jejudo, 2002 / 결핵

BACKGROUND: The nationwide tuberculosis registry system in Korea has been operated with the dual reporting system - public health center (PHC) and private medical services (PMS) - since 2000. While three-fifths of the registered cases in 2002 was reported by PMS, it was reported that the success rate of patients at PMS was lower than that at PHC. To identify the problems of the patients' management at the PMS as well as the PHC in a community is the aim of this paper. METHODS: The subject was selected from the registered cases of the pulmonary tuberculosis in Jejudo, 2002. The needed items for this study were gathered by the reviewing the medical charts directly. METHODS: Of the 262 patients included in the subject, 92 cases (35%) were treated initially at PMS. The sputum smear as an essentially diagnostic test was carried out with 69.2% at private clinics compared with 98.2% at PHC. The success rate of the treatment at PMS was 59.8% so that it had a statistically significant difference from that at PHC (80.0%; p<0.01). CONCLUSION: These results showed that there were several problems in diagnosis and treatment for the patient of pulmonary tuberculosis at PMS. To improve the success rate of the treatment at PMS, the nationwide clinical guideline for control of pulmonary tuberculosis should be systematically disseminated and strongly recommended at PMS by the government.