国立感染症研究所

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The topic of This Month Vol.42 No.4(No. 494)

Adenovirus infections, 2008 to 2020, Japan

(IASR Vol. 42 p67-69: April 2021)
 

Human mastadenoviruses (Ad), which belong to the genus Mastadenovirus in the family Adenoviridae, are non-enveloped double-stranded DNA viruses that are relatively physicochemically stable. Ads are currently grouped into seven species from A to G and over 80 types have been described (as an example, type 3 is denoted as Ad3). Ads have been reported as serotypes up to Ad51, but those classified after Ad52 have been reported as genotypes based on whole genome sequencing.

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The topic of This Month Vol.42 No.3(No. 493)

Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter Infection

(IASR Vol. 42 p49-50: March 2021)
 

The genus Acinetobacter comprises glucose non-fermentative, Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria that cause opportunistic infections. Acinetobacter species can cause pneumonia and other respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, infections at sites of surgery or trauma, catheter-related bloodstream infections, sepsis, and other conditions in immunocompromised patients and others.

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The topic of This Month Vol.42 No.2(No. 492)

COVID-19 as at December 2020

(IASR Vol. 42 p27-28: February 2021)

 

 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which first occurred in Wuhan, China in December 2019, spread worldwide in a short period of time and was declared to be in a pandemic state by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. According to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard dated January 4, 2021, a cumulative total of 85,136,586 cases and 1,843,342 deaths were reported from 191 countries and territories (see p.29 of this issue).

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The topic of This Month Vol.42 No.1(No. 491)

Acute hepatitis C, April 2006-October 2020

(IASR Vol. 42 p1-2: January 2021)

 

 Acute hepatitis C is caused by infection of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which belongs to the Flaviviridae family, genus Hepacivirus. After a latency period of 15-160 days (average 7 weeks), acute hepatitis develops with multiple symptoms such as general fatigue, cold-like symptoms, anorexia, chills, nausea, or vomiting; in 30-40% of patients, the virus becomes undetectable and the patient is cured, but the remaining 60-70% become HCV carriers and often progress from acute to chronic hepatitis. Asymptomatic carriers infected with HCV who have no symptoms account for 20-30% of HCV-infected individuals. The probability of spontaneous remission from chronic hepatitis is very low, at approximately 0.2%, and 10-16% of patients are thought to develop cirrhosis after an average of 20 years after the initial infection. Moreover, patients with cirrhosis develop hepatocellular carcinoma at a high rate of greater than 5% per year. The total number of deaths due to liver cancer used to exceed 30,000 a year, but has been on a downward trend since around 2000 (Cancer statistics in Japan, National Cancer Center, 1958-2018). The HCV carrier rate has also decreased since 2000 (see p.3 of this issue). Hepatitis C cases are diagnosed mostly via the combination of anti-HCV antibody and quantification of HCV RNA. Since 2014, direct acting antivirals (DAAs) have been used instead of interferon, which has problems with effectiveness and side effects; more than 95% of treated patients achieve sustained virological response (SVR), i.e., undetectable HCV RNA in the blood, 24 weeks after the end of the treatment (see p.5 of this issue).

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The topic of This Month Vol.41 No.12(No. 490)

Exanthema subitum 2000-2020

(IASR Vol. 41 p211-212: December 2020)

 

 Exanthema subitum (ES) is a febrile exanthematous disease in infancy with a generally good prognosis, characterized by a fever that lasts about three days and exanthema with fever reduction. In the acute phase, loose stool/diarrhea, bulging anterior fontanel, eyelid edema, and occipital lymphadenopathy are observed. Mottled exanthema on both sides of the uvula, so-called Nagayama’s spots, may appear in the early phase of the disease.

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The topic of This Month Vol.41 No.11(No. 489)

Influenza 2019/20 season, Japan

(IASR Vol. 41 p191-193: November 2020)

 

 The 2019/20 influenza season (from week 36 in September 2019 to week 35 in August 2020) was characterized by the predominance of the influenza A/H1pdm09 subtype, and influenza B, mainly Victoria lineage, also increased from week 51 in 2019.

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The topic of This Month Vol.41 No.10(No. 488)

HIV/AIDS in Japan, 2019

(IASR Vol. 41 p175-176: October 2020)

 HIV/AIDS surveillance in Japan started in September 1984. It was conducted under the AIDS Prevention Law between February 1989 and March 1999, and has operated under the Infectious Diseases Control Law since April 1999. Under the law, physicians must notify all diagnosed cases (see http://www.niid.go.jp/niid/images/iasr/34/403/de4031.pdf). The data presented in this article are from the annual report of the National AIDS Surveillance Committee for the year 2019 (published by the Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases Control Division, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), https://api-net.jfap.or.jp/status/japan/nenpo.html).

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The topic of This Month Vol.41 No.9(No. 487)

Rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in Japan as at July 2020

(IASR Vol. 41 p153-154: September 2020)

 Rubella is an acute infectious disease caused by the rubella virus, and is characterized by fever, rash, and lymphadenopathy. Rubella virus infection in pregnant women, especially up to 20 weeks of gestation, may result in prenatal transmission to the fetus and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which presents as various manifestations including heart defect, hearing loss, and cataract. Although there are no specific treatments for rubella or CRS, they can be prevented by rubella-containing vaccines.

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The topic of This Month Vol.41 No.8(No. 486)

Japanese spotted fever 1999-2019

(IASR Vol. 41 p133-135: August 2020)

 Japanese spotted fever is a tick-borne rickettsiosis that has been recently increasing; it was first reported in 1984 in Tokushima prefecture, Japan, based on the difference in the Weil-Felix reaction for scrub typhus (tsutsugamushi disease), which is endemic in Japan. It is caused by Rickettsia japonica, an obligate intracellular bacterium classified as a member of the spotted fever group rickettsia, causing fever and rash as major symptoms. Tick-bite sites and eschars are found in many patients. The rash extends from the extremities to the trunk, and is also noted on the palms and soles. The bite site is often smaller than that of scrub typhus, which is clinically similar. The primary risk of infection is outdoor activity and the incubation period from tick bite to disease onset is 2-8 days, which is shorter than that of scrub typhus (5-14 days). Japanese spotted fever is a Category Ⅳ Infectious Disease that requires reporting of all cases under the Act on the Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Medical Care for Patients of Infection (Infectious Diseases Control law; notification criteria are available at https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/images/iasr/38/448/de4482.pdf). Clinical differentiation from scrub typhus is difficult and laboratory diagnosis is required for notification.

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The topic of This Month Vol.41 No.7(No. 485)

COVID-19 as of May 2020

(IASR Vol. 41 p103-105: July 2020)

 Coronaviruses are enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses. Coronaviruses known to infect humans include four causative viruses of the common cold, human coronavirus 229E, OC43, NL63, and HKU1, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (MERS-CoV), both of which cause severe pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2, the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was first identified in December 2019, is classified in the same Betacoronavirus genus as SARS-CoV with high genetic homology (approximately 80%), and was reported to bind and enter human cells using the receptor ACE2.

Copyright 1998 National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan

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