Letter to the editor Rae Na, Kuenyoul Park, Heungsup Sung, Mi-Na Kim Departments of Laboratory Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine and Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Mi-Na Kim, E-mail: mnkim@amc.seoul.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2022;25(3):103-107. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2022.25.3.6Received on 4 July 2022, Revised on 31 August 2022, Accepted on 31 August 2022, Published on 20 September 2022.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Dear Editor,  Since the first confirmed case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on January 20, 2020, a total of 719,269 COVID-19 patients have been confirmed in Korea. A total of 10,874 cases were currently treated under quarantine in January 21, 2022. As of August 7, 2022, the number of COVID-19 patients

Review article Minh Phuong Trinh, Min-Kyoung Shin Department of Microbiology and Convergence Medical Science, College of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Korea Correspondence to Min-Kyoung Shin, E-mail: mkshin@gnu.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2025;28(3):18. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2025.28.3.7Received on 22 July 2025, Revised on 22 August 2025, Accepted on 28 August 2025, Published on 20 September 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 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) present distinct clinical and epidemiological challenges and thus require tailored genotyping approaches. MTB is a globally transmissible pathogen for which diagnostic and surveillance infrastructures are well defined, whereas NTM infections are environmentally acquired, taxonomically diverse, and increasingly prevalent among vulnerable populations. Molecular genotyping is indispensable for both pathogen groups, supporting outbreak investigation and drug resistance prediction for MTB and species-level identification and relapse-versusreinfection distinction

Review article Si Hyun Kim1, Jeong Hwan Shin2 1Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Inje University, Gimhae, Korea2Department of Laboratory Medicine and Paik Institute for Clinical Research, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea Correspondence to Jeong Hwan Shin E-mail: jhsmile@paik.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2025;28(3):16. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2025.28.3.5Received on 30 June 2025, Revised on 30 July 2025, Accepted on 1 August 2025, Published on 11 September 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 Accurate identification of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is crucial for effective patient management. With declining tuberculosis and rising NTM infections in South Korea, rapid diagnostics are essential. This review provides a comprehensive overview of current diagnostic methods for mycobacterial identification used in Korean clinical laboratories. The field has shifted from conventional methods, such as

Original article Yeon Chan Choi1*, Eun-Young Kim1*, Hyun Jin Choi1, Si Hyun Kim2, Eunkyoung You1, Ja Young Lee1, Jihyun Cho3, Seok Hoon Jeong4, Dokyun Kim4, Hyun Soo Kim5, Soo Hyun Kim6, Young Ah Kim7, Young Ree Kim8, Nam Hee Ryoo9, Jong Hee Shin10, Kyeong Seob Shin11, Young Uh12, 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, Korea3Department 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 Microbiology and 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,

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

Review article Eun Ha Lee1, Chi Rac Hong2 1Smart Farm Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Gangneung2Department 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. As well, the complex interactions of fungal communities within the gut microbiome are discussed. Current content: