Original article Jeong Su Park1,*, Jehada-Inn Alihuddin2,*, Kidong Kim2,3, Kyoungman Cho4, Jung-A Shin1, Mulbora Jee2 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea4The Wavetalk Co., Ltd., Daejeon, Korea *These authors contributed equally as co-first authors. Correspondence to Kidong Kim E-mail: kidong.kim.md@gmail.com Ann Clin Microbiol 2026;29(2):9. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2026.29.2.9Received on 13 April 2026, Revised on 29 May 2026, Accepted on 4 June 2026, Published on 20 June 2026.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.This is an Open Access article which is freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Abstract Background: Accurate diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is challenging because of the limitations of conventional wet-mount microscopy, which requires a trained examiner and offers suboptimal sensitivity. This preliminary study evaluated the analytical

Brief communication Changseung Liu1, Young Hee Seo2, Kyoung Ho Roh3, Hyukmin Lee2, Kyungwon Lee2,4 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Gangneung Asan Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung, Korea2Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea3Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Korea4Seoul Clinical Laboratories Academy, Yongin, Korea Correspondence to Kyoung Ho Roh E-mail: director.roh@gmail.com Ann Clin Microbiol 2026;29(2):8. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2026.29.2.8Received on 10 April 2026, Revised on 27 May 2026, Accepted on 7 June 2026, Published on 20 June 2026.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.This is an Open Access article which is freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Abstract Azithromycin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae poses a threat to the efficacy of gonorrhea treatment. We report the whole-genome characterization of two azithromycin-resistant N. gonorrhoeae ST1600 isolates collected in Busan, South Korea, in 2018

Original article Suyeon Jo, Byoungkuk Kim, Boyeong Kwon, Kwanghyun Kim, Minhyeok Kim, Kihyung Park Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seegene Medical Foundation, Busan, Korea Correspondence to Suyeon Jo E-mail: freedom96@naver.com; Kihyung Park E-mail: p0413@mf.seegene.com Ann Clin Microbiol 2026;29(1):4. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2026.29.1.4Received on 12 January 2026, Revised on 26 February 2026, Accepted on 27 February 2026, Published on 11 March 2026.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.This is an Open Access article which is freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Abstract Background: Pathogenic Escherichia coli (PEC) is a leading cause of acute diarrhea worldwide. With increasing antibiotic use, antimicrobial resistance in PEC has become a significant public health concern. In this study, we investigated the distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of PEC isolated from patients with acute diarrhea in the Busan and Gyeongnam regions of South Korea. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional laboratory-based study, 272 PCR-positive residual

Letter to the editor Jaesoon Kim1,2*, Nakwon Kwak3,4*, Jee-Soo Lee1,2, Taek Soo Kim1,2, Moon-Woo Seong1,2, Jae Hyeon Park1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea3Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea4Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea *These authors contributed equally to this work. Correspondence to Jae Hyeon Park, E-mail: bjack9@snu.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2026;29(1):2. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2026.29.1.2Received on 1 January 2026, Revised on 15 January 2026, Accepted on 30 January 2026, Published on 27 February 2026.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.This is an Open Access article which is freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Dear Editor, Segniliparus spp. are acid-fast, rapidly growing bacteria associated with pulmonary infections, particularly in patients with underlying lung disease.

Original article Eun-Young Kim1, Yeon Chan Choi1, Hyeon Jin Choi1, Si Hyun Kim2, Jihyun Cho3, Seok Hoon Jeong4, Dokyun Kim4, Hyun Soo Kim5, Soo Hyun Kim6, Young Ah Kim7, Young Ree Kim8, Nam Hee Ryoo9, Jong Hee Shin6, Kyeong Seob Shin10, Young Uh11, Jeong Hwan Shin1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine and Paik Institute for Clinical Research, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea2Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Inje University, Gimhae, Korea.3Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wonkwang University Medical School, Iksan, Korea4Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea5Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Hwaseong, Korea6Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea7Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Korea8Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jeju National University College of Medicine, Jeju, Korea9Department of Laboratory Medicine, Keimyung University School

Original article Jung-ah Kim1*, Sae Am Song2*, Sunjoo Kim3, Sunggyun Park4, Kwangsook Woo5, Yu Kyung Kim6 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Korea2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea3Department of Laboratory Medicine, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju, Korea.4Departments of Laboratory Medicine, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea5Department of Laboratory Medicine, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea6Department of Clinical Pathology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea *These authors contributed equally to this work. Correspondence to Sunjoo Kim, E-mail: sjkim8239@hanmail.net Ann Clin Microbiol 2025;28(2):10. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2025.28.2.4Received on 30 May 2025, Revised on 12 June 2025, Accepted on 12 June 2025, Published on 27 June 2025.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.This is an Open Access article which is freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Abstract Background: Bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major

Review article Hyun Joo Jung Department of Pediatrics, Ajou University School of Medicine, Ajou University Hospital, Suwon, Korea Correspondence to Hyun Joo Jung, E-mail: free1109@ajou.ac.kr This article is a secondary publication of the original work published in Korean in the Korean Journal of Healthcare-associated Infection Control and Prevention (2024;29(2):110–115, https://doi.org/10.14192/kjicp.2024.29.2.110). This English version has been translated and published in Annals of Clinical Microbiology with the permission of the editors of both the Korean Journal of Healthcare-associated Infection Control and Prevention and the Annals of Clinical Microbiology. This secondary publication complies with the conditions set forth in the “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals” by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and serves to enhance accessibility and value by making the content available to a broader international readership through English translation. Ann Clin Microbiol 2025;28(2):8. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2025.28.2.2Received on 15 May 2025, Revised

Original article Kwangjin Ahn1, Hyunju Choi1, Taesic Lee2, Young Uh1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea2Department of Family Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea Correspondence to Young Uh, E-mail: u931018@yonsei.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2025;28(2):7. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2025.28.2.1Received on 4 March 2025, Revised on 7 April 2025, Accepted on 14 April 2025, Published on 19 May 2025.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.This is an Open Access article which is freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Abstract Background: Identifying Bacillus spp. and performing antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is challenging because of their diversity and limited clinical laboratory resources. We investigated the isolation frequency and antimicrobial susceptibility of Bacillus spp. over a 4-year period. Methods: Bacillus isolates collected between 2020 and 2024 were identified using matrixassisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, and AST was performed using

Review article Eun Ha Lee1, Chi Rac Hong2 1Smart Farm Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Gangneung, Korea 2Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Eun Ha Lee, E-mail: ehlee@kist.re.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2025;28(1):2. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2025.28.1.2Received on 10 October 2024, Revised on 21 November 2024, Accepted on 27 November 2024, Published on 30 December 2024.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.This is an Open Access article which is freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Abstract Purpose: The human gut mycobiome comprises diverse fungal species and plays a crucial role in health and disease, despite its relatively low abundance compared to bacterial populations. This review provides an overview of the mycobiome’s composition, developmental patterns, and dysbiosis in various pathological conditions. In addition, the complex interactions of fungal communities within the gut microbiome are discussed. Current content: The