Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives

Hye Sook Jeong

2 Articles

Diversity of Rotavirus Strain Circulated in Gwangju, Republic of Korea: Min Ji Kim, Hye Sook Jeong, Seon Gyeong Kim, Se Mi Lee, Sun Hee Kim, Hye-Young Kee, Eun-hye Jo, Hye-jung Park, Dong-Ryong Ha, Eun Sun Kim, Kye-Won Seo, Jae Keun Chung; Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2014;5(6):364-369. Published online December 31, 2014; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrp.2014.10.004

Abstract PDF: Objectives
The introduction of new rotavirus vaccines into the public sphere makes it necessary to maintain constant surveillance and to heighten public awareness of the appearance of new rotavirus strains. We describe the molecular epidemiology of circulating rotavirus strains after vaccine introduction.
Methods
We collected a total of 1070 stool samples from children with gastroenteritis from January 2013 to June 2013. The antigenic prevalence of rotavirus group A was distinguished using enzyme immunoassay. The G and P genotypes of enzyme immunoassay-positive samples were determined with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and nucleotide sequencing analysis.
Results
Of the 1070 samples collected, 277 (25.9%) tested positive for rotaviruses by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay. The most prevalent circulating genotype G was G1 (51.3%), followed by G2 (34.7%) and G9 (10.8%). The predominant type of genotype P was P[8] (66.1%), followed by P[4] (31.4%). In this study, nine genotypes were found. G1P[8] was the most prevalent (51.8%), followed by G2P[4] (30.5%), G9P[8] (9.9%), and G2P[8] (4.0%). Several unusual combinations (G1P[4], G3P[9], G3P[8], G4P[6], and G9P[4]) were also identified.
Conclusion
Molecular epidemiological knowledge of rotaviruses is critical for the development of effective preventive measures, including vaccines. These data will help us monitor the effectiveness of current rotavirus vaccines.

Genotypic Characterization of Vibrio vulnificus Clinical Isolates in Korea: Hye Sook Jeong, Jun Young Kim, Se Mi Jeon, Mi Sun Park, Seong Han Kim; Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2011;2(1):8-14. Published online June 30, 2011; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrp.2011.04.008

Abstract PDF: Objectives
Vibrio vunificus is known to cause septicemia and severe wound infections in patients with chronic liver diseases or an immuno-compromised condition. We carried out the molecular characterization of V. vulnificus isolates from human Vibrio septicemia cases based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using NotI and SfiI.
Methods
and Results PFGE was used to characterize a total of 78 strains from clinical cases after NotI or SfiI digestion. The geographical distribution of PFGE patterns for the strains from the southern part of Korea, a high-risk region for Vibrio septicemia, indicated that the isolates from southeastern Korea showed a comparatively higher degree of homology than those from southwestern Korea.
Conclusions
We report the genetic distribution of V. vulnficus isolated from Vibrio septicemia cases during 2000–2004 in Korea. This method has potential use as a subspecies-typing tool for V. vulnificus strains isolated from distant geographic regions.

Author index