• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1928-1936
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• 2018

Recently, human infections caused by severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), which can lead to fatality, have dramatically increased in East Asia. With the unavailability of vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent and/or treat SFTSV infection, early rapid diagnosis is critical for prevention and control of the disease. Here, we report the development of a simple, rapid and sensitive portable detection method for SFTSV infection applying reverse transcription-loop mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) combined with one-pot colorimetric visualization and electro-free reaction platform. This method utilizes a pocket warmer to facilitate diagnosis in a resource-limited setting. Specific primers were designed to target the highly-conserved region of L gene of SFTSV. The detection limit of the RT-LAMP assay was approximately $10^0$ viral genome copies from three different SFTSV strains. This assay exhibited comparable sensitivity to qRT-PCR and 10-fold more sensitivity than conventional RT-PCR, with a rapid detection time of 30 to 60 minutes. The RT-LAMP assay using SFTSV clinical specimens has demonstrated a similar detection rate to qRT-PCR and a higher detection rate compared to conventional RT-PCR. Moreover, there was no observed cross-reactive amplification of other human infectious viruses including Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV), Dengue, Enterovirus, Zika, Influenza and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). This highly sensitive, electro- and equipment-free rapid colorimetric visualization method is feasible for resource-limited SFTSV field diagnosis.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.101-112
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• 2009

Objectives: Cattle slaughterhouse workers are known as the high risk group for the zoonoses. We surveyed the awareness of zoonoses among cattle slaughterhouse workers to suggest direction of education and public relations. Methods: We evaluated the epidemiological characteristics of zoonoses and the process of cattle slaughtering. We designed different questionnaires for the workers involved in slaughtering, the handlers of residual products, the inspectors and their assistants, and the grading testers and their assistants respectively. We visited 73 cattle slaughterhouses and 62 residual products handle houses across the country and conducted a questionnaire survey of the general characteristics and the awareness of zoonoses. The data collected was evaluated using the SPSS 17.0 statistical package. Results: The awareness rate of brucellosis, Q fever and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) were 83.9%, 18.5%, 62.7% among cattle slaughterhouse workers. The awareness rate of zoonoses among the workers involved in slaughtering and the handlers of residual products was lower than other workers. The awareness rate of zoonoses tended to increase as the school career. In the correct awareness rate of the transmission of zoonoses, 'transmission by tick bite', 'person to person' and 'air transmission' were lower than other transmission items. The most common reason why cattle slaughterhouse workers think that it is difficult to prevent zoonoses was the ignorance of how to prevent. Conclusions: An educational program is needed for the cattle slaughterhouse workers on zoonoses especially Q fever. And publicity activities about prevention of infection are needed for high risk groups.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.241-247
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• 2014

Purpose: Serum vitamin C is one of the indicators for antioxidant levels in the body and it is lower in cancer patients compared with the healthy population. However, there have been few studies on the levels of serum vitamin C in terminally ill cancer patients and related factors. Methods: We followed 65 terminal cancer patients who were hospitalized in two palliative care units. We collected data of age, sex, cancer type, functional status, clinical symptoms, history of cancer therapy, and various laboratory findings including serum vitamin C level. Patients were categorized into two groups according to the quartile of serum vitamin C level (Q1-3 vs. Q4), which were compared each other. Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors related to serum vitamin C levels. Results: The mean serum vitamin C level was $0.44{\mu}g/mL$, and all patients fell into the category of vitamin C deficiency. Univariate analysis showed that The serum vitamin C level was lower in non-lung cancer patients (P=0.041) and febrile patients (P=0.034). Multivariate analysis adjusted for potential confounders such as lung cancer, fever, dysphagia, dyspnea, C reactive protein, and history of chemotherapy demonstrated that odds for low serum vitamin C level was 3.7 for patients receiving chemotherapy (P=0.046) and 7.22 for febrile patients (P=0.02). Conclusion: Vitamin C deficiency was very severe in terminally ill cancer patients, and it was associated with history of chemotherapy and fever.