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Korean J Parasitol. 2009 Sep;47(3):219-225.
Published online 2009 August 28.  doi: 10.3347/kjp.2009.47.3.219.
Copyright © 2009 by The Korean Society for Parasitology
A Hospital-Based Serological Survey of Cryptosporidiosis in the Republic of Korea
Jong-Kyu Lee,1,† Eun-Taek Han,2,† Sun Huh,3 Woo-Yoon Park,4 and Jae-Ran Yu1,5
1Department of Environmental and Tropical Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul 143-701, Korea.
2Department of Parasitology, Kangwon National University College of Medicine, Chuncheon 200-701, Korea.
3Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Chuncheon 200-705, Korea.
4Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-711, Korea.
5Division of Malaria and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Health, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Seoul 122-701, Korea.

Corresponding author (Email: maria205@kku.ac.kr )

†Both authors equally contributed to this work.

Received May 01, 2009; Revised June 22, 2009; Accepted June 25, 2009.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Cryptosporidium parvum, cryptosporidiosis, seroprevalence, ELISA, western blot.
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