Larvae, nymphs, and adult stages of 3 species of ixodid ticks were collected by tick drag methods in Seoul during June-October 2013, and their infection status with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus was examined using RT-PCR. During the period, 732 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 62 Haemaphysalis flava, and 2 Ixodes nipponensis specimens were collected. Among the specimens of H. longicornis, the number of female adults, male adults, nymphs, and larvae were 53, 11, 240, and 446, respectively. Ticks were grouped into 63 pools according to the collection site, species, and developmental stage, and assayed for SFTS virus. None of the pools of ticks were found to be positive for SFTS virus gene.

The prevalence of human astroviruses was tested in patients with acute gastroenteritis by using conventional duplex reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and electrophoresis. Diarrheal fecal samples were collected from 9,597 patients at local hospitals in Seoul. The prevalence of astroviruses was 1.0% (94/9,597 patients; mostly infants), and that of sapoviruses was 0.1% (14/9,597 patients). Age- and gender-wise analyses were carried out on 29 astrovirus-positive patients having complete information on file regarding their age, gender, and other particulars. The results were higher in patients of ages 0 to 14 yr, and 69.0% of the astrovirus-positive patients were females, of which 69.2% were infants (0 to 12 months), and 61.5% were 1-4 yr old. Notably, in the case of 5 to 78-yr-old acute gastroenteritis patients, 100% were females.

Objectives: For our survey of the incidence of norovirus infections and the genogroup distribution of norovirus in Seoul, Republic of Korea, we evaluated through regular surveillance the prevalence of norovirus infections in patients with acute gastroenteritis occurring in Seoul from January 2007 to July 2011.Methods: For norovirus detection, we conducted epidemiological analyses on the basis of the junction of ORF1 and ORF2 (approximately 314 bp). 11,202 fecal specimens were collected from patients in Seoul with acute gastroenteritis between January 2007 and July 2011 and then tested for the presence of NoV via reverse transcription (RT) -polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Results: 16.6% (1,861/11,202) of the fecal specimens were determined to be positive for noroviruses. The incidences of norovirus infection in Seoul in the case of acute gastroenteritis with regular surveillance were 28. 0% in 2007, 14.6% in 2008, 9.1% in 2009, 14.1% in 2010, and 12.9% in 2011, which shows that noroviruses constituted a major causative agent of acute gastroenteritis. Also, the incidence of noroviral infection in patients with acute gastroenteritis increased after the large-scale new influenza in 2009. Conclusions:The genetic characteristics of norovirus and the epidemiologic patterns of a viral pathogen in acute gastroenteritis patients may provide potentially effective data for epidemiological studies in Seoul, Korea.

Norovirus and rotavirus are important causes of acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis in communities worldwide. Genotypes of norovirus and rotavirus in stool samples, which were collected from patients, was determined by RT-PCR and ELISA. A total 4,484 stool samples (461 outbreak cases) collected during January 2010-April 2013 were analyzed. Four hundred thirty eight of samples were positive for norovirus. Twelve samples were positive for Rotavirus. Norovirus genotypes identified were nine kinds

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