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Original Article A study on leptospiral infection among healthy young men, a special group by leptospira isolation from blood culture in an endemic area of Korean hemorrhagic fever
Joung Soon Kim, H.K Chung, H.W Chung, S.S Lee, J.K Kim, W.Y Lee, H.K Byun
Epidemiol Health 1986;8(1):174-181
DOI: https://doi.org/
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This study was carried out on special groups consisted of homogeneous healthy and young Korean males stationed middle part of Korea, in order to understand the magnitude of subclinical leptospiral infection among these special groups and particularly the reationship between leptospirosis and Korean hemorrhagic fever that have shown similarity in many aspects. One hundred eighteen subjects from the well-known endemic area of KHF and 406 subjects from non-endemic area were interviewed for the information on their behavior and environments exposed for the last one month on weekly basis; all study subjects were blood drawn for leptospira isolation by culture in newly developed media, YUMC-5050. From the vicinity of stations studied 25 rats were captured alive, anesthesized with ether and autopsied. Lungs, liver and kidney were sectioned with a sharp scalpel and touch printed on slide glasses. These specimens were stained by IF techeique and examined for the presence of leptospiral bacteria. Summarized results of the study are as followings: 1) The overall leptospira culture positive rate was 2.8% that was much lower than that of Korean healthy rural farmers(16%). 2) Twelve out of 15 leptospira positives were followed up to 2 months by re-culturing their blood and found none of them remained positive. 3) Leptospira culture positive rate was 9 times higher among the groups stationed in KHF endemic area(9.3%) than those stationed in non-endemic area 4) The leptospira positive status did not have any statistical correlation with the variables such as the length of stay in current station, former residence area and educational level 5) The behavioral and environmental characteristics also failed to reveal any statistical association with the leptospiral positive status 6) Clinical symptoms and signs experienced during the last one month were more frequent and various among leptospira negatives than among positives 7) Nineteen Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus examined by organ touch printed specimens with IF technique showed leptospira positive in 24 rats, 96% positive rate; 22 rats had leptospira in all three organs, one in kidney and liver, and the other one only in kidney


Epidemiol Health : Epidemiology and Health