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Symposium 2 «Abstract»
“Recent Topics of Zoonosis”
Date: Mon. 20th July 10:00~13:00
Venue: Convention Hall
Organiser: Society for Zoonosis Research
Purpose: Recently, infectious diseases are spreading in world wide. These main infectious diseases are emerging infectious diseases and re-emerging infectious diseases. In this symposium, recent topics of zoonosis, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Dengue fever, Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) and the policies of zoonosis by the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare will be discussed.
<Chairperson’s Message>
Hiroshi YOSHIDA (Honorary Director, Himeno Hospital)
Infectious diseases could be contorolled by the improvement of environmental sanitation and the development of antimicrobial agents and waccines. However, emerging infectious diseases and reemerging infectious diseases can be the new subjects in Japan. An imported infections are also increasing in japan. In 2014, epidemia of dengue fever were observed in japan after 70 years interval. Possibility of the invasion of Ebora virus to Japan was worried last year. Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) was reported from mid China from 2009. In Japan, SFTS was reported 108 cases (including 35 dead cases) from 15 prefectures of south Japan until november 2014. A number of pets are increasing in Japan, therefore patients of zoonosis are increasing now. Japan Medical Association and Japan Veterinary Association are taking a measure to meet for the zoonosis with Ministry of Health and Welfare. In this symposium, Ebora hemorrhagic fever, Dengue fever, SFTS, and the policies of zoonosis by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare will be discussed.
“Ebola in West Africa: A clinician’s point of view”
Yasuyuki KATO, MD, MPH (Chief, Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections, Disease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine)
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a highly fatal emerging viral infectious disease, which was firstly recognized in central Africa in 1976. Bats are believed to be natural reservoirs; however, in the recent epidemic in West Africa, it remains unknown how the initial patient got infected from an animal. It is surprising that except this initial case over 20,000 patients probably got infected with EVD through person-to-person transmission.
The author was dispatched to Liberia as a short-term consultant on case management and infection prevention and control for the World Health Organization. In August 2014, the President of Liberia declared a state of emergency and major hospitals in the capital of Monrovia were shut down due to healthcare workers’ infection. There was only one Ebola treatment center, which could not keep up with the rapid increase in patients. At this time, the view that the EVD outbreak had shifted from a health problem to a crisis management issue was shared internationally, thus leading to a major intensification of international support. The outbreak was thankfully declared over in Liberia in May 2015. However, cases of EVD continue to emerge in West Africa.
Control of EVD outbreak requires the proper installation of case management, contact tracing, safe and dignified burial, and social mobilization. The presence of various factors inhibiting the above measures has contributed to the recent outbreak. Every outbreak of infectious disease is not only a medical problem; social aspects are also greatly involved.
There are many areas with frail public health infrastructure in the world. Conducting support activities in these areas could be the most effective way to prevent an exotic infectious disease from spreading to Japan. From this point of view, I hope that Japanese experts’ engagement in outbreak response abroad will win public acceptance and support.
“Re-emerging dengue epidemic and prevention in Japan”
Tomohiko TAKASAKI, MD, PhD (Chief, Vector-borne Virus Laboratory, National Institute of Infectious Diseases)
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease. Dengue virus (DENV) infections occur in most of the tropical and subtropical areas of the world. DENV infection with any of four serotypes leads to a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms and their severity, including asymptomatic infection, dengue fever (DF) and fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).
The common symptoms of dengue fever are high fever, headache and muscle pain are shown on the onset day and later petechial rashes will be appeared. Some cases show bleeding signs and become severe dengue.
DF/DHF is considered to be one of the most important re-emerging infectious diseases. Physicians and pediatricians in non-endemic countries are often unfamiliar with the symptoms and unaware of the potential importation of patients with DF/DHF. In August of 1942, an epidemic occurred suddenly in Nagasaki city and then in Sasebo city, Osaka and Kobe city. The epidemic in 1942 was subsided in November, but in the next summer it broke out again and recurred every summer until 1945. There were no dengue endemics since 1945.
In late August of 2014, three autochthonous dengue cases were reported in Japan. Since then, as of 31 October 2014, a total of 162 autochthonous cases have been confirmed. While cases were reported from throughout Japan, the majority was linked to visiting a large park or its vicinity in Tokyo, and the serotype detected has been serotype 1.
The vector is Aedes albopictus, now widespread in Japan. Aedes albopictus, can transmit the dengue viruses and now has a northern range extending to Akita and Iwate prefectures because of global warming.
“Protect your pets, protect yourself; Lessons from recent research on tick-borne severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome”
Ken MAEDA, Ph.D., D.V.M. (Professor, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University)
Protect your pets, protect yourself; Lessons from recent research on tick-borne severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
In tick-borne infectious diseases, babesiosis is one of the most serious pro
blem in dogs and Japanese spotted fever, lyme disease and Tsutsugamushi disease have been reported in human. In 2011 and 2012, cases of tick-borne severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome SFTS were reported in China and Japan, respectively. Since SFTS shows high mortality and is transmitted by ticks which are surrounding our life, we got nervous to this disease and ticks. For protection of your pets and yourself from these diseases, it is the most important to learn again about tick-borne infectious disease
【Prevention of tick-borne diseases】
- Protect your pets by mite repellents.
- Brush your pets’ hair to remove ticks on their surface.
- Remove ticks on your pets as soon as possible, if you find biting ticks.
- Let ticks fix with gummed tape, if you find moving ticks.
- Protect yourself by mosquito and mite repellents before walking around the bush, forest and mountain.
- Wear long sleeves, long pants, and socks when outdoors
- Examine gear before coming inside home.
- Conduct a full-body tick check using a mirror.
- Remove ticks by a fine-topped tweezers as soon as possible.
- Examine a fever by yourself for one-two weeks after tick-bite.
- If you develop a rash or fever within several weeks of removing a tick, see your doctor. Be sure to tell the doctor about your recent tick bite, when the bite occurred, and where you most likely acquired the tick.
“Measures and Actions by Japan’s Health Ministry to Recent Zoonosis Events”
Shoji MIYAGAWA, DVM.MS. (Director, Infectious Diseases Information Surveillance Division, Health Bureau, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, JAPAN)
Global threat of infectious diseases like Ebola endemic in West Africa and Recent events of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Republic of Korea has great impacts to ordinal citizen even in Japan. Among the serious infectious diseases in human there are several instances which those infectious diseases are originally from infectious diseases or pathogens found in animal population. Therefore it is important to emphasize prevention and control on zoonotic infectious diseases when we strengthen the overall infectious diseases prevention and control in human. Like modern living setting where human and animal live together closely we should pay substantial attention to infectious diseases from animals. In this presentation, recent zoonotic events like avian influenza and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Coronavirus infection and Japan’s Health Ministry’s measures and actions to those events are presented.