A total of 402 Staphylococcus aureus isolates from bovine mastitis milk collected during 2003-2009 in Korea were tested for susceptibility to 20 antimicrobial agents. All S. aureus isolates were susceptible to 11 of 20 antimicrobials tested; no resistance was observed against pirlimycin, telithromycin, novobiocin, penicillin/novobiocin, quinupristin/dalfopristin, clindamycin, rifampin, ciprofloxacin, trimethprim/sulfamethoxazol, vancomycin, and linezolid. Over 66% of the S. aureus isolates were resistant to penicillin. Resistance was also seen for gentamicin (11.9%), erythromycin (7.7%), methicillin (oxacillin and cefoxitin, 6.2%), and tetracycline (4.2%). No noticeable change was observed in penicillin, gentamicin, and erythromycin resistance over the 7-year period. Tetracycline resistance appeared to decrease consistently, whereas methicillin resistance was observed from 2005. About 2.7% (11/402) were resistant to three or more antimicrobials. Genotyping of the 17 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolated from each cow revealed two staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) types (IV and IVa), three spa types (t286, t324, and untypable), and two sequence types (ST1 and ST72). Eleven of 17 (64.7%) MRSA strains belonged to SCCmec IVa-t324-ST72. The rest of strains belonged to SCCmec IVa-t286-ST1 (n = 3) and SCCmec IV-untypable-ST72 (n = 3). None of the MRSA carried the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene. These characteristics are the same as those found in community-acquired (CA) MRSA strains prevalent in humans in Korea. Three pulsed-field gel electrophoresis types (A-C) were observed among the 17 MRSA strains examined, and 14 strains belonged to the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern regardless of their geographical origin and year of isolation. The results of this study provide evidence of CA-MRSA infection in dairy cattle for the first time in Korea.

We reviewed the clinical signs of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) incidences in the Republic of Korea occurring from November 2010 to April 2011. Profuse salivation, vesiculation, lameness or ataxia, and ulceration were the most commonly observed clinical signs of FMD among the infected animals, irrespective of the species. The clinical signs of FMD manifested more clearly in the dairy cattle and pigs compared to the beef cattle, deer and goats on infected farms. About 54% of the infected dairy farms reported vesicles on the teats as the primary clinical sign, while vesiculation on the nose, including the snout and muzzle, was the major lesion observed in infected beef cattle and pig farms. The teat and feet were the second most frequently vesiculated body parts on infected pigs. Although the average age of the first-to-appear clinical lesion in the animals in the beef and dairy cattle farms subjected to vaccination was higher than that observed in the animals in the farms not subjected to vaccination, a reverse pattern was observed in the pig farms. In this study, the clinical signs of FMD were described on the basis of the subjective observations by the farm workers. The present results highlight the clinical signs expected on specific body parts of different types of susceptible animals, and therefore, they may be useful for generating public awareness, particularly among farm workers, as well as for early detection of future FMD outbreaks.

Since the first rabies case was reported in a dog in 1907, the disease was enzootic up to 1975 in Korea. After a steady decrease in the number of rabies cases from 1976 to 1984, no case was reported for 8 years from 1985 to 1992. Then, a resurgence of the disease was noted in 1993, and a continuous increase of rabies cases was observed during the following years. This report provides information on rabies in South Korea during the reemerging period 1993-2003. A total of 364 rabies cases in five different animal species and five deaths in human beings as a result of rabies were reported. Cattle and dogs accounted for 46.4% and 40.4% of total animal cases, respectively, and raccoon dogs commanded an overwhelming majority (44/48) of rabies cases in wildlife animal species. All animal and human rabies cases occurred only in two provinces, Gyeonggi and Gangwon; majority of them in two counties of Gyeonggi and one county of Gangwon province that border the demilitarized zone. From the three counties, the disease continued to expand to the other areas of the two provinces. The average monthly frequency of animal rabies cases during the 11-year period peaked in January, and the incidence was highest during winter. There were three major rabies outbreaks in animals and the number of animal rabies cases increased with time. Data indicate that the temporal patterns were attributable to the ethology of raccoon dogs in the areas of outbreak.

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