The first outbreak of giardiasis with drinking water in Korea.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the pathogen of the diarrhea outbreak in a village in Jeollabuk province in Korea in April 2010. METHODS: DNA extraction was performed from the 120 L of collected water, which was centrifuged at 10,000 x g for 30 min. PCR reactions were conducted in a total of 25 ul, which included PCR premix (GenDEPOT, Barker, TX, USA), 2 ul (∼100 ng) of extracted DNA, and 10 pmol of each primer. RESULTS: Nine people out of 25 had a symptom of abdominal pain accompanied by diarrhea after they used stored valley water in a water tank as a provisional water supply source without chlorine sterilization. Among them Giardia lamblia was detected in fecal samples of 7 people using the polymerase chain reaction method. Although G. lamblia was also detected from water provided by the provisional water supply system stored in the water tank and used as drinking water, it was not detected in the water tank itself. This water-borne outbreak is considered to have occurred when the provisional water supply tube was destroyed under a building construction and contaminated by G. lamblia, but its precise cause has not been clarified. CONCLUSION: This outbreak resulting from G. lamblia is very meaningful as the first outbreak of an infection by a water-borne parasite in Korea.

Development of a Diagnostic Kit to Detect Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to develop a high-sensitivity antibody diagnostic kit that will enable a rapid and accurate detection of Cryptospofidium parvum and Giardia lamblia in patients with diarrhea. METHODS: The cultivated C. parvum oocysts and G. lamblia cysts in each calf and dog were injected to mice to obtain antibodies, which were titrated. Spleen cells of the immunized mouse were separated and blended with myelomas to produce hybrid cell lines that form monoclonal antibodies. Using ELISA method, antibodies that specifically respond to C. parvum and G.lamblia were then selected. The cells were injected into the abdominal cavity of a BALB/c mouse to isolate hydrops abdominis containing high level of antibodies. The IgG antibody was purified using protein G gel. RESULTS: The detection limit of monoclonal antibodies for Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia was 125 oocysts/mL and 1250 cysts/mL, respectively. In addition, during testing they did not show cross-reactivity to viruses (n = 15), bacteria (n =17), and parasites (n = 9). CONCLUSION: The rapid diagnostic antibody kit developed in this study, which specifically responds to C. parvum and G. lamblia, will be useful in detecting and monitoring diarrheal infections.