The Prevalence of Bartonella henselae Infection in Korean Feral Cats / 감염

BACKGROUND: Cat scratch disease (CSD) is an emerging disease worldwide and is mainly caused by Bartonella henselae, a gram-negative bacterium. The most common clinical manifestation is regional lymphadenopathy, though clinical recognition may be difficult, as atypical manifestations occur. The condition can be complicated by neuroretinitis, endocarditis, and sometimes fatal encephalopathy. The reservoir of B. henselae is the cat, and the prevalence rates of B. henselae infection in cat populations range from 4 to 70%. The prevalence of Bartonella infection in Korea has not been studied, thus, in this study Bartonella infection was investigated in cats captured in the Inchon and Ansan areas. METHODS: Twenty wild cats were captured and their livers and spleens were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), bacterial culture, and histopathologically. PCR used two primers: Cat (sense:5'-GAT TCA ATT GGT TTG AA(G/A) GAG GCT-3', antisense:5'-TCA CAT CAC CAG G(A/G)C GTA TTC- 3') and Barto (sense:5'-(C/T) CT TCG TTT CTC TTT CTT CA-3', antisense:5'-AAC CAA CTG AGC TAC AAG CC-3'). Culture was performed by inoculating sliced spleen and liver into the ECV304 cell line and bacterial growth was observed over a period of 3 weeks. If no visible bacterial growth was identified, the presence of bartonella was examined by DNA staining, indirect immunofluorescent staining, and PCR. Liver and spleen were stained with H&E and scrutinized under the light microscope. RESULTS: Nine pairs of culture cells inoculated with liver and spleen were examined by indirect immunofluorescent staining and PCR; no positive case was found. In addition, no positive case was identified by PCR in the liver and spleen specimens of eleven cats. Spleen and liver specimens of eleven cats were examined by light microscopy and none showed granuloma. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study suggests that the Bartonella infection is probably uncommon in the cat population of the Inchon and Ansan areas. Further studies should be undertaken to detail the prevalence of Bartonella infection in other areas and in human.

A Survey for the Hospital Utilization of Cancer patients in Inchon / 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hospital utilization of cancer patients in Inchon and to assess the feasibility of Inchon Cancer Registry (ICR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used two data sources from Korean Central Cancer Registry (KCCR) and Korean Medical Insurance (KMI) for analysis. RESULTS: KCCR data analysis showed that 50.8% of cancer patients visited hospitals in Seoul, 46% visited hospitals in Inchon, and 2.6% in other areas at first visit. The analysis of KMI data showed that 43% of cancer patients visited hospital in Seoul, 38.5% visited hospitals in Inchon, and 18.5% in other areas at first visit. From these results, we found many cancer patients visited hospitals located in Seoul. We estimated that 52.1% would be missed when we performed cancer registry project in Inchon area alone from the KCCR data analysis. On the other hand, 60% would be missed from the KMI data. However, if we used registration data at the nation-wide level and actively registered cancer patient data in Inchan, expected unregistration rates would be 5%. CONCLUSION: Even though registration rate to KCCR was relatively low (74%) in Inhon and many patients were treated in other area, we are convinced that almast all cancer patients would be registered because most cancer patients visited at least one of the cancer registry hospitals at the nation-wide level. Therefore, if ICR used KCCR and encouraged the hospitals in Inchon to actively participate in cancer registration, the population-based cancer registration in Inchon would be possible.