In September 1998, a case of nosocomial cutaneous myiasis caused by Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826) in a 77-year-old male was found. The patient had been receiving partial maxillectomy due to the presence of malignant tumor on premaxilla. This is the first verified case involving Lucilia sericata in Taegu, Korea. In the present paper, the salient morphological features of the third instar larvae involved have been studied.
Aged ; Animals ; Cross Infection/*parasitology ; Diptera/ultrastructure ; Face ; Human ; Larva/ultrastructure ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Myiasis/*parasitology ; Skin Diseases, Parasitic/*parasitology ; Surgical Wound Infection/*parasitology

Cat flea bite in humans results in extremely pruritic skin lesions. It has been reported to occur among those living in domiciliary accommodation. However, nosocomial infestation with cat flea has not been reported. We hereby report a case of nosocomial infestation of cat flea in a hospital facility. Identification of the parasite, its appropriate eradication, and adequate medical management of the patients resulted in a satisfactory outcome.
Adult ; Animals ; Bites and Stings/diagnosis/*parasitology ; Cross Infection/diagnosis/*parasitology ; Ctenocephalides/*physiology ; Female ; Flea Infestations/diagnosis/*parasitology ; Humans

On July 2009, 5 fly larvae were discovered inside the nose of a 76-year-old female. She was living in Cheonan-si, and in a state of coma due to rupture of an aortic aneurysm. Surgery was performed on the day of admission, and the larvae were found 4 days later. By observing their posterior spiracle, the larvae were identified as Lucilia sericata. Considering the rapid development of this species, the infection was likely acquired during hospitalization. Further investigation on the hospital environment should be needed to know the origin of the infection.
Aged ; Animals ; Aortic Rupture/complications ; Cross Infection/diagnosis/parasitology ; *Diptera ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; *Larva ; Myiasis/*diagnosis/*parasitology ; Nose Diseases/*diagnosis/*parasitology

We present a case of oral myiasis in a 15-year-old boy with tuberculosis meningitis. The diagnosis was based on the visual presence of wriggling larvae about 1 cm in size and on the microscopic features of the maggots, especially those relating to stigmatic structures. The larvae were identified as third stage larvae of Sarcophaga sp.
Adolescent ; Animals ; Cross Infection/microbiology/*parasitology ; *Diptera ; Fatal Outcome ; Humans ; Male ; Mouth Diseases/complications/*parasitology ; Myiasis/complications/*diagnosis ; Tuberculosis, Meningeal/complications ; Turkey

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.
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

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.
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

A 57-year old man who was admitted to an emergency room of a tertiary hospital with hemoptysis developed malarial fever 19 days later and then died from severe falciparum malaria 2 days later. He had not traveled outside of Korea for over 30 years. Through intensive interviews and epidemiological surveys, we found that a foreign patient with a recent history of travel to Africa was transferred to the same hospital with severe falciparum malaria. We confirmed through molecular genotyping of the MSP-1 gene that Plasmodium falciparum genotypes of the 2 patients were identical. It is suggested that a breach of standard infection control precautions resulted in this P. falciparum transmission between 2 patients in a hospital environment. This is the first report of a nosocomial transmission of falciparum malaria in Korea.
Africa ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Cross Infection/parasitology/*transmission ; Fatal Outcome ; Humans ; Korea ; Malaria, Falciparum/parasitology/*transmission ; Male ; Merozoite Surface Protein 1/chemistry/genetics ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Plasmodium falciparum/chemistry/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Protozoan Proteins/chemistry/genetics ; Sequence Alignment ; Travel