BACKGROUND: Despite recent advances in antifungal chemotherapy, invasive aspergillosis remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a cytokine that is known to enhance antifungal activities of monocytes against Candida albicans. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the potentials of IL-15 to enhance antifungal activities of monocytes against Aspergillus fumigatus. METHODS: Peripheral blood monocytes from healthy adults were incubated with 0, 1, 10, 100 ng/ml of IL-15 for 1, 2, and 4 days. Then, the ability of IL-15 to elicit the production of superoxide anion, the damage of hyphae by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, and the killing ability of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia was investigated. RESULTS: Incubation of peripheral blood monocytes with 100 ng/ml of IL-15 enhanced hyphal damage after 2 days (p<0.05), conidicidal activity from the first day (p<0.05), and increased the production of superoxide anion (O2- ) in response to phorbol myristate acetate. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that IL-15 augments the microbicidal activity of human monocytes against Aspergillus fumigatus.
Adult ; Aspergillosis ; Aspergillus fumigatus* ; Aspergillus* ; Candida albicans ; Drug Therapy ; Homicide ; Humans* ; Hyphae ; Immunocompromised Host ; Interleukin-15* ; Monocytes* ; Mortality ; Spores, Fungal ; Superoxides ; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of an outbreak of food-borne infectious disease requires a hospital to do extended role. There has been no report of an outbreak and an outbreak management of food-borne infectious diseases in a hospital. Therefore, this report of an outbreak and management of Shigellosis in the hospital would help others to manage further cases. METHODS: This was a descriptive study for an infection control program for food-borne infectious diseases in a hospital. RESULTS: There was a shigellosis outbreak at a university hospital in Seoul between December 3 and 30, 2001, Five hundred eighty four were affected, of which 81 cases were suspected and 86 cases were confirmed Shigella sonnei in fetal culture. The source of infection was identified as a lunch box or seaweed rolled rice that was contaminated and was supplied from the S-catering facility. The infection control team had developed the various strategies to control the outbreak and implemented them. The strategies included an epidemiology investigation, the removal of infection sources, medical treatment and isolation of patients, education and management of public relationship, environmental control, withdrawal of medical students' training, prevention and control of asymptomatic cases, intensive care unit strong financial support, analysis and management various data and the construction of cooperation and reporting system with the public health system CONCLUSION: This outbreak was controlled by effective team approach. The effective management of an outbreak of food-borne infectious diseases requires a systematic infection control, public relationship strategies for the reputation of the hospital, and the cooperation with a public health system.
Communicable Diseases ; Dysentery, Bacillary* ; Education ; Epidemiology ; Financial Support ; Humans ; Infection Control* ; Intensive Care Units ; Lunch ; Public Health ; Seaweed ; Seoul ; Shigella sonnei

Dengue fever (DF) is an acute febrile viral disease frequently presenting with headache, bone or joint and muscular pain, rash and leukopenia. Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is characterized by four major clinical manifestations: high fever, hemorrhagic phenomena, often with hepatomegaly and in severe cases, signs of circulatory failure. Such patients may develop hypovolemic shock resulting from plasma leakage. This is called dengue shock syndrome (DSS) and can be fatal. The disease is one of the leading causes of hospitalization and death in children in several Asian, central and south American and African countries. Dengue fever and Dengue hemorrhagic fever have steadily increased in both incidence and distribution over the past 40 years. With an increased air travel, more travelers to the tropics and subtropics are returning within the incubation period of acute febrile infection. We experienced a Korean engineer with complaints of fever, chill, headache, nausea and myalgia after return from Malaysia and confirmed as dengue fever.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child ; Dengue* ; Exanthema ; Fever ; Headache ; Hepatomegaly ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence ; Joints ; Leukopenia ; Malaysia ; Myalgia ; Nausea ; Plasma ; Severe Dengue ; Shock ; Virus Diseases

This study was conducted to evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of diphtheria-tetanus (Td) vaccine in adults over 40 yr old who had never received a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccination. A total of 242 subject completed three-doses of Td vaccination and subsequent assays for immunogenicity. Before vaccination, 33.9% and 96.7% participants showed antibody levels of diphtheria and tetanus, respectively, which were below protective level (<0.1 U/mL). After the first dose of Td vaccine, 92.6% and 77.6% of subjects gained protective antibody concentrations (> or =0.1 U/mL) for diphtheria and tetanus, with an increase to 99.6% and 100% after the third dose. Local and systemic adverse events occurred in 37.9% and 15.5% of the subjects. No serious adverse event requiring an unscheduled hospital visit occurred. In conclusion, three-doses of Td vaccination to unimmunized adults are safe and effective in inducing protective immunity against diphtheria and tetanus.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antibodies, Bacterial/blood ; Diphtheria/prevention & control ; Diphtheria-Tetanus Vaccine/*adverse effects/*immunology ; Female ; Humans ; Immunization, Secondary ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tetanus/prevention & control ; Tetanus Toxoid/immunology

HIV infection/AIDS shows characteristic epidemiological and clinical patterns according to the region, country, and race. The epidemiological and clinical patterns of HIV infection/ AIDS in Korea was investigated by retrospectively analyzing the medical records of 176 HIV-infected persons who visited two major referral hospitals of AIDS in Korea from 1985 to April 2000. The most common transmission route was heterosexual contact (52.3%), followed by homosexual contact (23.9%). Among the opportunistic diseases, candidiasis was the most prevalent (21.6%), followed by Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (15.9%), tuberculosis (12.5%), and CMV infection (9.1%). The most common initial AIDS-defining opportunistic disease was tuberculosis (33.3%). The most common causes of death were tuberculosis (25.7%) and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (25.7%). This study describes the epidemiological and clinical patterns of HIV infection/AIDS in Korea, which not only enables us to accurately understand HIV infection/ AIDS in this country, but eventually to aid in establishing effective preventive measures and treatment guidelines in Korea.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*complications/*epidemiology ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Human ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Opportunistic Infections/etiology ; Pneumonia, Pneumocystis/mortality ; Prevalence ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Tuberculosis/mortality