Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts were isolated from a child suffering from acute gastroenteritis and successfully passaged in a calf and mice (designated hereafter SNU-H1) in the Republic of Korea; its molecular genotype has been analyzed. The GAG microsatellite region was amplified by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), with a 238 base pair product, which is commonly displayed in C. parvum. The isolate was shown to be a mixture of the genotypes 1 (anthroponotic) and 2 (zoonotic). To study its infectivity in animals, 2 calves and 3 strains of mice were infected with the SNU-H1; in these animals, the propagation of both genotypes was successful. In immunosuppressed (ImSP) BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice the number of oocysts decreased after day 10 post-infection (PI) ; but in ImSP ICR mice, they remained constant until day 27 PI. The results show that both the C. parvum genotypes 1 and 2 can be propagated in calves and ImSP mice.
Animals ; Cattle ; Child ; Cryptosporidiosis/microbiology ; Cryptosporidium parvum/*genetics/immunology ; Diarrhea/parasitology ; Feces/parasitology ; Genotype ; Human ; Korea ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Oocysts ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Zoonoses/parasitology

No abstract available.
Anemia, Hypoplastic, Congenital*

A 29-year-old Korean woman visited the Department of Surgery in MizMedi Hospital with a palpable itching mass on the right breast that had existed for the past 7 months. She had no history to eat either frogs or snakes, but had the history of drinking impure water. Sonography revealed a serpiginous hypoechoic tubular structure associated with partial fat necrosis in breast parenchymal layer and subcutaneous fat layer. It also revealed oval cystic lesions. At operation, an ivory white opaque ribbon-like worm that measured 16.5 cm in length and 0.5 cm in width was extracted. Anti-sparganum specific serum IgG level in the patient's serum (absorbance = 0.71), measured by ELISA, was found to be significantly higher than those of normal controls (cut off point = 0.21). Sonography and ELISA appear to be helpful to diagnose sparganosis. Breast sparganosis is rarely found throughout the world.
Adult ; Animals ; Antibodies, Helminth/blood ; Breast/*parasitology ; Breast Diseases/diagnosis/*parasitology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Human ; Immunoglobulin G/blood ; Sparganosis/diagnosis/*parasitology ; Sparganum/immunology/isolation & purification ; Ultrasonography, Mammary

So called pseudosarcoma of the esophagus is an extremely rare polypoid malignant tumor and a number of cases, totaling 19 cases have been reported in world literatures until 1985. The presenting case is an unique one of pseudosarcoma of the esophagus and we illustrated all microscopic features with mapping, immunoperoxidase stain for cytokeratin and electron microscopic findings to clarify the histogenesis of spindle cells. It is postulated that the spindle cells of pseudosarcoma are transformed from squamous carcinoma cells based on (1) morphological similarity between squamous epithelial cells and spindle cells, (2) positive reaction of immunoperoxidase staining for cytokeratin in the adjacent normal esophageal mucosa, squamous cell carcinoma, spindle cells and giant cells and (3) presence of transformation zone.

Field rodents involved in ecological food chains and which are the prey of carnivores in the natural environment may serve as reservoir hosts for Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans, however, no data has been published to date in Korea. A total of 1,008 Apodemus agrarius, a dominant species of field rodents in Korea, were trapped at various locations around the country, and their serum antibody (IgG) levels to T. gondii were examined by ELISA. The mean absorbance was 0.11, and fifteen samples (1.49%) showed positive titers from 0.18 to 0.59. The seropositive samples were analyzed by immunoblot. Five of them showed reactive bands to T. gondii water soluble antigens of 30, 35, and 43 kDa. This immunoblot analysis showed very similar patterns to that obtained using sera of experimentally infected mice with T. gondii. The present study presents indirect evidence of the existence of T. gondii in field rodents in Korea.
Animal ; Antibodies, Protozoan/blood* ; Antigens, Protozoan/immunology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Immunoblotting ; Molecular Weight ; Muridae/parasitology* ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Toxoplasma/isolation & purification* ; Toxoplasma/immunology

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Leukemia*

Competition ELISA test using sparganum specific monoclonal antibodies (Mab) was investigated to improve the diagnostic specificity of sparganosis. By cell fusion, one hybridoma clone secreting anti-sparganum specific Mab was selected (Sp-20), which reacted on bands of 32 kDa and 38 kDa. Sp-20 reacted on calcium corpuscles on IFA. By micro-ELISA, 16 of 17 sparganosis cases (95%) were found positive, but 1 of 18 clonorchiasis cases (5%), 4 of 16 cysticercosis cases (25%) and 2 of 16 normal controls (11%) showed false positive reactions. On the other hand, by competition ELISA using a sparganum specific Mab (Sp-20), 16 out of 17 (95%) of sparganosis cases were found positive, but 2 of 18 clonorchiasis cases (10%), 2 of 16 cysticercosis cases (12%), 3 of 16 paragonimiasis cases (18%) and 1 of 16 normal controls (6%) showed false positive reactions.
Animal ; Antibodies, Helminth ; Binding, Competitive ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Human ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sparganosis/*diagnosis ; Sparganum/immunology ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

No abstract available.
Constriction, Pathologic* ; Fetal Death*

No abstract available.
Infectious Mononucleosis*