Brucellosis is a zoonosis caused by Brucella species. B. melitensis, B. suis, B. abortus and B. canis can infect humans. Recently, as the cases of bovine brucellosis have increased every year in Korea, the cases of human brucellosis have also increased among livestock workers and veterinarians in rural areas, since the first human case was reported in 2003. Because clinical manifestations of the disease are nonspecific and may be very atypical, clinicians and laboratory persons need to be active in using diagnostic tools including polymerase chain reaction in addition to the ordinary culture and serologic tests, and taking an appropriate measure to prevent intralaboratory infection. We report herein our experience in three human brucellosis cases diagnosed by cultures, serologic tests and gene detection.
Animals ; Brucella ; Brucellosis* ; Brucellosis, Bovine ; Cattle ; Humans* ; Korea ; Livestock ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Serologic Tests ; Veterinarians

Brucellosis is a zoonosis, which is caused by Brucella abortus, B. melitensis, B. suis and B. canis. Brucellosis has been an emerging disease since the discovery of B. melitensis, by Bruce, in 1887. Worldwide, brucellosis remains a major source of disease in both humans and domesticated animals. A high prevalence in certain geographical areas is well recognized, but has been largely underestimated. In Korea, the first human case of Brucellosis occurred in 2002, but the incidence of human brucellosis has now increased. Herein, a case of epididymorchitis due to brucellosis is reported.
Animals, Domestic ; Brucella abortus ; Brucella* ; Brucellosis ; Epididymitis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Orchitis ; Prevalence

Brucellosis is a glbally distributed zoonotic infection of the Brucella genus that can involve multiple tissue and organ. In Korea, Brucellosis is caused mainly by B. abortus. but there is no reported case of pyogenic hip joint infection due to Brucella infection in Korea. The authors report a rare case of B. abortus infection in a 40-year-old male cattle breeder male who presented with septic arthritis of the hip joint as the first clinical manifestation.
Adult ; Animals ; Arthritis, Infectious ; Brucella ; Brucellosis ; Cattle ; Hip ; Hip Joint ; Humans ; Korea ; Male

Background: and Purpose: Rapid population aging and an increase in the demented elderly became major social concerns in South Korea. Environmental design is increasingly recognized as an important aid for long-term care of patients with dementia as well as pharmacotherapy. We did a pilot study to investigate the effect of the Seoul Dementia Healing Design Project In-House Design (S-DHDP-IHD) in improving the quality of life of the cognitively impaired patients and of the S-DHDP Environmental Design (S-DHDP-ED) in increasing daily outdoor activities for cognitively impaired individuals and not cognitively impaired (NCI) elderly residents. Methods: We applied the S-DHDP-IHD to 2 households of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early-stage vascular dementia (VD). We assessed the effectiveness of intervention by surveys and video recordings of daily tasks. Additionally, we applied the S-DHDP-ED to 5 community facilities and randomly selected 287 residents over 65 years old (32 dementia caregivers and 255 NCI elderly) to participate in surveys. Results: S-DHDP-IHD intervention showed improved instrumental activities in MCI patient and early-stage VD patient. Also, the satisfaction with an intervened home environment was increased. Following S-DHDP-ED intervention, non-demented residents engaged in more outdoor and social activities. They were also satisfied with the function and design of the installed facilities. Conclusions S-DHDP encompassing both home and environmental improvements was effective in readapting cognitively impaired individuals and could achieve a customized, holistic approach to dementia caregiving by means of the improved design.