A Hospital-Based Serological Survey of Cryptosporidiosis in the Republic of Korea.
10.3347/kjp.2009.47.3.219
- Author:
Jong Kyu LEE
1
;
Eun Taek HAN
;
Sun HUH
;
Woo Yoon PARK
;
Jae Ran YU
Author Information
1. Department of Environmental and Tropical Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul 143-701, Korea. maria205@kku.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords:
Cryptosporidium parvum;
cryptosporidiosis;
seroprevalence;
ELISA;
western blot
- MeSH:
Adolescent;
Adult;
Aged;
Animals;
Antibodies, Protozoan/blood;
Child;
Child, Preschool;
Cross Infection/blood/*epidemiology/immunology/parasitology;
Cryptosporidiosis/blood/*epidemiology/immunology/parasitology;
Cryptosporidium parvum/*immunology;
Female;
Humans;
Infant;
Korea/epidemiology;
Male;
Middle Aged;
Young Adult
- From:The Korean Journal of Parasitology
2009;47(3):219-225
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
The seroprevalence of cryptosporidiosis was examined using patients' sera collected from hospitals located in 4 different areas of the Republic of Korea. ELISA was used to measure antibody titers against Cryptosporidium parvum antigens from a total of 2,394 serum samples, which were collected randomly from patients in local hospitals; 1) Chungbuk National University Hospital, 2) Konkuk University Hospital, 3) local hospitals in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do (province), 4) Jeonnam National University Hospital, from 2002 through 2003. Of the 2,394 samples assayed, 34%, 26%, and 56% were positive for C. parvum-specific IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies, respectively. Positive IgG titers were most common in sera from Jeonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Jeollanam-do, and positive IgM titers were most common in sera from Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Chuncheongbuk-do. The seropositivity was positively correlated with age for both the IgG and IgA antibodies but was negatively correlated with age for the IgM antibodies. Western blotting revealed that 92%, 83%, and 77% of sera positive for IgG, IgM, and IgA ELISA reacted with 27-kDa antigens, respectively. These results suggested that infection with Cryptosporidium in hospital patients occurs more commonly than previously reported in the Republic of Korea.
