• Title/Summary/Keyword: new infectious diseases

Search Result 281, Processing Time 0.02 seconds

COVID-19 response survey study on health personnel in Jeju Special Self-governing Province (제주특별자치도 코로나19 대응 보건인력 대상 설문조사 연구)

  • Nam-Hun Kang;Jong-Myon Bae
    • Journal of Medicine and Life Science
    • /
    • v.21 no.1
    • /
    • pp.1-10
    • /
    • 2024
  • The purpose of this study is to determine the issues of supplementation and improvement to prepare for the outbreak of new infectious diseases such as new variants of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to guide work for a strategic new response to infectious disease. Public officials of Jeju Special Self-governing Province and health personnel responding to COVID-19, working at six public health centers in Jeju-do region were administered a survey about additional preparations to be made in the future, based on the period when COVID-19 was treated legally as a first-class infectious disease. Frequency analysis was conducted on the collected data. The Likert 5-point scale and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the scores for effective response to emerging infectious diseases according to demographics. Among the important factors identified for effective response to new infectious diseases, 'facilitation of cooperation with public institutions' and 'facilitation of cooperation with private institutions' had the highest scores. In the future, when a patient presents with a new infectious disease, the step that needs to be supplemented in each phase of the public health center's response is 'immediate response team operation'. Further, public health centers responded that 'expansion of dedicated personnel related to infectious diseases' needs to be improved to respond to new infectious diseases. Along with the results of this study, considering the difficulties experienced by health personnel responding to new infectious diseases in preparation for future outbreaks of new infectious diseases, and to respond effectively, detailed and clear guidelines for responding to quarantine of patients of new infectious diseases will be needed.

First report of cross-species transmission of deer hepatitis E virus to a guanaco in Korea

  • Park, Byung-Joo;Yi, Ji-Hyung;Ahn, Hee-Seop;Han, Sang-Hoon;Kim, Yong-Hyun;Go, Hyeon-Jeong;Kim, Dong-Hwi;Lee, Joong-Bok;Park, Seung-Yong;Song, Chang-Seon;Lee, Sang-Won;Choi, In-Soo
    • Journal of Preventive Veterinary Medicine
    • /
    • v.41 no.3
    • /
    • pp.121-123
    • /
    • 2017
  • The hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a leading causative agent of acute hepatitis in humans. Zoonotic HEV strains have been isolated from several animal species, including pigs. New HEV variants have been recently isolated from camels in the Middle East. In the present study, fecal samples from fallow deer, formosan deer, alpaca, and guanaco were analyzed for the detection of HEV. One HEV strain was detected from guanaco, a species of camelids. The nucleotide sequence of guanaco HEV was identical to those of deer HEV-3 strains, which implied the cross-species transmission of HEV-3 from deer to guanaco.

New emerging viral infections in human beings that first appeared in Asia: a summary for the present decade 2001 - 2010

  • Wiwanitkit, Viroj
    • CELLMED
    • /
    • v.1 no.1
    • /
    • pp.3.1-3.4
    • /
    • 2011
  • Emerging infectious diseases are usually a public concern. The presence of new emerging infectious diseases is a topic to be reported on and discussed about in medicine. Several new emerging infectious diseases have occurred within the present decade. In this specific review, the author briefly reviews the important new emerging human viral infections that first appeared in Asia during the present decade, 2001 - 2010.

Evaluation of immunocontraceptive vaccine composed of gonadotropin-releasing hormone conjugated with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in male rats

  • Park, Byung-Joo;Kim, Yong-Hyun;Ahn, Hee-Seop;Han, Sang-Hoon;Go, Hyeon-Jeong;Lee, Joong-Bok;Park, Seung-Yong;Song, Chang-Seon;Lee, Sang-Won;Choi, In-Soo
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
    • /
    • v.57 no.3
    • /
    • pp.155-158
    • /
    • 2017
  • Surgical castration performed to reduce male-associated problems results in pain and microbial infections in male animals. Therefore, immunocontraception, which is mediated by the animal's own antibodies against reproductive hormones, has been recommended as an alternative to surgical castration when considering the animal's welfare. In this study, a new immunocontraceptive vaccine composed of six tandem copies of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) fused to rat granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was developed, and its efficacy was evaluated in male rats. Three different doses (10, 50, and $100{\mu}g$) of recombinant GM-CSF-GnRH protein were injected three times at intervals of two weeks into male rats. The rats vaccinated with three doses of GM-CSF-GnRH produced a significantly higher level of antibodies against GnRH than that in the negative control rats. Severe atrophy of gonads was observed in rats vaccinated with three doses of GM-CSF-GnRH but not in the negative control rats. The results reveal that the new GnRH vaccine conjugated with rat GM-CSF induces efficient immunocontraception in male rats. This formulation of the immunocontraceptive vaccine would be applicable to both domestic and pet male animals.

119 Emergency Medical Technicians' Infection Control Education Status, Stress, and Needs related to Emerging Infectious Diseases

  • Dong-Min Shin;Byung-Jun Cho
    • Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
    • /
    • v.28 no.12
    • /
    • pp.201-209
    • /
    • 2023
  • This study investigated to provide basic data for infection control education on new infectious diseases by confirming the level of knowledge, training status, stress, and need for training on new infectious diseases for 119 emergency medical technicians (EMT). This data collection period was a total of 39 days from August 10 to September 18, 2022, and a total of 105 copies were collected. The analysis of this study used the SPSS 25.0 program. As a result of the study, among the 119 paramedics, the gender of the EMT was 54 men (51.4%) and 51 women (48.6%), with more men than women, with 47 people in their 20s (44.8%) and those in their 30s or older. There were 58 people (55.2%), most of whom were in their 30s or older. The highest total work experience was 3 to 5 years (37 people (35.2%)). In the pandemic situation, an attempt was made to check the education status of 119 paramedics on COVID-19 and the need for education on new infectious diseases. As a result of the study, the status of education on COVID-19 was insufficient. The demand for education on new infectious diseases was found to be high. Among 119 emergency responders who are frequently exposed to new infectious diseases, theoretical and practical training in personal protective equipment, stress, including theoretical training, is needed. A theoretical and practical education program on new infectious diseases and personal protective equipment should be developed as a subject for college students before becoming EMT.

Recommendation for use of the newly introduced pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccines in Korea

  • Choi, Eun-Hwa;Kim, Kyung-Hyo;Kim, Yae-Jean;Kim, Jong-Hyun;Park, Su-Eun;Lee, Hoan-Jong;Eun, Byung-Wook;Jo, Dae-Sun;Choi, Kyong-Min;Hong, Young-Jin
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
    • /
    • v.54 no.4
    • /
    • pp.146-151
    • /
    • 2011
  • Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a leading cause of invasive infections including bacteremia and meningitis, as well as mucosal infections such as otitis media and pneumonia among children and adults. The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) was licensed for use among infants and young children in many countries including Korea. The routine use of PCV7 has resulted in a decreased incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) by the vaccine serotypes among the vaccinees and substantial declines in IPD among unvaccinated populations such as older children and adults as well. In addition, there are increasing evidences to suggest that routine immunization with PCV7 is changing the epidemiology of pneumococcal diseases such as serotype distribution of IPD, nasopharyngeal colonization, and antibiotic resistance patterns. In contrast, there is an increase in the number of IPDs caused by nonvaccine serotypes, though it is much smaller than overall declines of vaccine serotype diseases. Several vaccines containing additional serotypes have been developed and tested clinically in order to expand the range of serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Recently two new pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccines, 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13), have been approved for use in several countries including Korea. This report summarizes the recommendations approved by the Committee on Infectious Diseases, the Korean Pediatric Society.

Awareness about Pandemic Infectious Diseases, Ethical Awareness, and Ethical Decision-making among Nursing Students (간호대학생의 신종 감염병에 대한 인식, 신종 감염병 상황에서의 윤리 인식과 윤리적 의사결정)

  • Kim, Yunsoo;Hong, Sungsil
    • Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
    • /
    • v.33 no.3
    • /
    • pp.326-339
    • /
    • 2019
  • Purpose: This study attempts to identify the level of awareness, ethical awareness, and decision-making among nursing students, in response to pandemic infectious diseases. Methods: Subjects were 210 nursing college students attending colleges in 5 cities and provinces nationwide. Data were collected from November 2017 to April 2018 using a self-administrated questionnaire, and analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics. Results: Considering the awareness of pandemic infectious diseases, the nursing students expressed high concern about the possibility of future outbreaks of pandemic infectious diseases and seriousness of the situation. There were numerous negative views on the response and stockpiling of drugs by the government. Ethical awareness of pandemic infectious diseases was high, with demands for accurate information and proper protective equipment. Overall, ethical decision-making when responding to pandemic infectious diseases represented a high score. Also, higher awareness levels of pandemic infectious diseases would result in increased ethical and ethical decision-making. Conclusion: In conclusion, we propose the introduction of an ethical education program for medical personnel and nursing university students, to enable the handling of future pandemic outbreaks of new infectious diseases.

Novel respiratory infectious diseases in Korea

  • Kim, Hyun Jung
    • Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
    • /
    • v.37 no.4
    • /
    • pp.286-295
    • /
    • 2020
  • Respiratory infections are very common and highly contagious. Respiratory infectious diseases affect not only the person infected but also the family members and the society. As medical sciences advance, several diseases have been conquered; however, the impact of novel infectious diseases on the society is enormous. As the clinical presentation of respiratory infections is similar regardless of the pathogen, the causative agent is not distinguishable by symptoms alone. Moreover, it is difficult to develop a cure because of the various viral mutations. Various respiratory infectious diseases ranging from influenza, which threaten the health of mankind globally, to the coronavirus disease 2019, which resulted in a pandemic, exist. Contrary to human expectations that development in health care and improvement in hygiene will conquer infectious diseases, humankind's health and social systems are threatened by novel infectious diseases. Owing to the development of transport and trading activity, the rate of spread of new infectious diseases is increasing. As respiratory infections can threaten the members of the global community at any time, investigations on preventing the transmission of these diseases as well as development of effective antivirals and vaccines are of utmost importance and require a worldwide effort.

Screening of Essential Genes in Staphylococcus aureus N315 Using Comparative Genomics and Allelic Replacement Mutagenesis

  • Ko Kwan-Soo;Lee Ji-Young;Song Jae-Hoon;Baek Jin-Yang;Oh Won-Sup;Chun Jong-Sik;Yoon Ha-Sik
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
    • /
    • v.16 no.4
    • /
    • pp.623-632
    • /
    • 2006
  • To find potential targets of novel antimicrobial agents, we identified essential genes of Staphylococcus aureus N315 by using comparative genomics and allele replacement mutagenesis. By comparing the genome of S. aureus N315 with those of Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, a total of 481 candidate target genes with similar amino acid sequences with at least three other species by >40% sequence identity were selected. of 481 disrupted candidate genes, 122 genes were identified as essential genes for growth of S. aureus N315. Of these, 51 essential genes were those not identified in any bacterial species, and 24 genes encode proteins of unknown function. Seventeen genes were determined as non-essential although they were identified as essential genes in other strain of S. aureus and other species. We found no significant difference among essential genes between Streptococcus pneumoniae and S. aureus with regard to cellular function.