The African swine fever virus (ASFV) was first detected in wild boar in the Demilitarized Zone, a bordered area between South and North Korea, on 2 October 2019. Phylogenetic analyses of ASFV genes encoding p72 and CD2v indicated that the causative strain belongs to genotype II and serogroup 8, respectively, and contained additional tandem repeat sequences between the I73R and the I329L protein genes.

A marine bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa BYK-2 (KCTC 18012P), was immobilised by entrapment in 10% (w/v) polyvinyl alcohol beads and optimized for the continuous production of rhamnolipid. The relative activity of rhamnolipid production was maintained at 80 approximately 90% of the initial production during 15 cycles in a repeated batch culture. Continuous culture was performed in a 1.8 1 airlift bioreactor, yielding 0.1 g rhamnolipid h(-1) at a dilution rate of 0.0 18 h(-1), 25 degrees C, initial pH 7, and 0.5 vvm aeration rate with a 1.21 working volume.

Blastocystis is a protozoan parasite commonly detected in the intestinal tract of humans and animals. It has been actively studied worldwide; however, information on Blastocystis is limited in Korea. Because there is an increasing concern about the contact between wildlife and domestic animals or humans, we assessed the infection status and zoonotic potential of Blastocystis in Korean water deer (KWD, Hydropotes inermis argyropus) using genotyping and phylogenetic analysis. A total of 125 fresh fecal samples were collected from KWD which were killed by vehicles on highways or roadsides in this study. Among the 125 samples, 51 (40.8%) were PCR positive. We performed nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 26 of the 51 PCR-positive samples. By analyzing Blastocystis 18S rRNA, two subtypes (ST4 and ST14) were identified in this study. Of the 26 samples analyzed, 25 were identified as ST14 and one as ST4. Infection of ST14 in humans has not been reported. Although only one ST4 sample was detected in this study, ST4 has zoonotic potential without showing ruminant specificity. Thus, continuous attention should be provided to the potential of transmission between wildlife and domestic animals and humans.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is tick-borne and causes this disease (SFTS) in humans. We determined the complete genome sequences of two SFTSV strains isolated from serum from a human with SFTS and a dog with asymptomatic infection using reverse transcription and rapid amplification of cDNA ends PCR.

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious disease occurring in domestic pigs and wild suids, and leads to serious haemorrhage and nearly 100% mortality. ASF is caused by infection with African swine fever virus (ASFV; family: Asfarviridae, genus: Asfivirus) (Dixon et al., 2020). Since its original description in the 1920s in Kenya, this viral disease has been highly prevalent in African and European countries. In Asia, ASF was first reported in a farm near Shenyang City in Liaoning Province in China, in August 2018(Zhou at al., 2018.Thereafter, it quickly spread to other countries in South-East Asia, including Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as nearly all provinces in mainland China, in 2019 (Lu et al., 2020). ASF outbreaks have also been described in North Korea and South Korea in the same year .Despite the high mortality rates and socio-economic impacts of ASF, no vaccines or therapeutic agents are available for controlling its outbreak or its effective treatment (Dixon et al., 2020). Therefore, studies on the routes and patterns of ASF transmission and its early detection are urgently needed. Molecular epidemiology approaches using polymorphic DNA sequences can provide insight into the spatiotemporal patterns of disease transmission throughout the areas in which ASF is prevalent. The genomic DNA of ASFV shows a low evolution rate. Nevertheless, multiple sites show inter-genomic polymorphisms, particularly those containing short tandem repeats (STRs), which can be selected as informative markers in epidemiological investigations (Goller et al., 2015;Nix et al., 2006).