Globally more than 50,000 people die of rabies every year. Most of victims are kids under 15 year of age and are reported from Asia and Africa. There are only limited areas where rabies has been eliminated or historically no incursion of rabies has ever been reported. As more than 99% of rabies death in humans occurs by dog bite, it is evident that the most important and effective preventive measures is canine rabies control. In rabies endemic countries, therefore, every effort to control rabies by vaccination of dogs along with dog population control should be implemented. It has been shown that elimination of canine rabies is feasible even in those countries where the burden of rabies is tremendously high. On the other hand one of the most effective measures taken by rabies-free countries to maintain their rabies-free status is strict import restriction of dogs. In this article the measures implemented in several rabies-free countries or areas to sustain their rabies-free status have been reviewed.

抄録全体を表示

平成16年11月，狂犬病の侵入防止に万全を期すため，日本における犬・猫等の検疫制度について，それまでのワクチン接種と係留を主体とする制度から，マイクロチップの装着，ワクチン接種，抗体価の測定，輸出国での180日間の待機等からなる新たな制度へと大幅に変更された。この変更による日本への狂犬病の侵入リスクの変化について，筆者が動物検疫所精密検査部危険度分析課に在籍していた平成20年頃，当時の衛藤精密検査部長をはじめとした職員の方々の協力を得つつ，リスク評価を行った。その結果については，英国の学術雑誌「Epidemiology and Infection」に学術論文として公表した。また，このリスク評価の内容については，第39回獣医疫学会学術集会シンポジウムにて，犬等の動物検疫制度の説明と併せて紹介する機会をいただいた。
今般，同誌の了解を得て，当該論文の日本語訳（一部図表を追加）を紹介する。

抄録全体を表示

Taiwan has been considered canine rabies free for 52 years after the elimination of endemic dog rabies in 1961. However, three ferret-badgers (Melogale moschata) were confirmed as rabies and reported to OIE by Taiwan government on July 17, 2013. This was the first rabies positive during rabies test under the surveillance of animals from 1999 in Taiwan. Through inter-ministerial collaboration by the Rabies Control Central Epidemic Command Center established on August 1, 2013, there have been no human infections reported according to the increased health education, vaccination of dogs and cats, and the use of preand postexposure prophylaxis in humans. Interestingly, rabies virus isolated from Taiwan ferret badgers has been a distinct lineage within the group of lineages from Asia, phylogeographically. It was also reported that the most recent common ancestor was originated 91-113 years ago. This was a strong impact for the consideration of a rabies free status in Japan. The last case of indigenous human and animal rabies in Japan was reported in 1956 and 1957, respectively, and, since then, there has been no report about animal rabies. Until now, under the Rabies Prevention Law (MHLW, 1950), the Infectious Diseases Control Law (MHLW, 1998) and the Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control Law (MAFF, 1951) substantive efforts to prevent rabies have been adopted by the central and local governments, veterinarians, and physicians (e.g. registration and control of stray dogs, rabies diagnosis in suspected cases, appropriate PEP for human, import and export quarantine of animals, notification system for the importation of animals, rabies vaccination of dogs). However, three imported human cases were reported. In 1970, a college student suffered from rabies in Tokyo after a trip to Nepal where he had been bitten by a stray dog. Two patients returned from the Philippines were coincidentally reported in Kyoto and Yokohama in November 2006 after a 36-year absence (http://idsc.nih.go.jp/iasr/28/325/tpc325.html). Two cases in 2006 were dealt in accordance with The Guideline for Rabies in 2001 (MHLW) in terms of the initial response and medical practice. This guideline played a successful role in those two cases and was result of the follow-up amendment and drill of measures and contingency plan had been deemed because of any inappropriate public health response or delay at an early stage of rabies cases, even in doubt, leading to unnecessary, excessive social anxiety. In addition, the Guideline for Rabies Control in Japan 2013 was come out focusing on an action plan after the confirmation of rabid animals. In reaction to the outbreak of rabies in ferret-badgers in Taiwan, the Guideline for Animal Rabies Survey was also reported on March 2014 for the capacity building of rabies diagnosis and report system on animal rabies in the local government of Japan.

抄録全体を表示

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of cloven hoofed livestock animals such as cattle and pigs. Since the FMD is endemic in many Asian countries, Japan always faces the threat of FMD invasion from nearby countries. Therefore, preventive measures against introduction of FMD agents via animals and animal products imported from affected countries should be adequately conducted. In addition, when the outbreak occurred, strict control measures such as prompt destruction of animals in the affected farms and movement restriction in the surrounding farms should be implemented. Although these control measures should be based on the recent scientific knowledge, these knowledge are in many different literatures and finding suitable information in a short occasion is always difficult. In this review, we tried to present the resent knowledge found in scientific papers regarding the feature of FMD virus, symptoms found in infected animals and various routes of infection. In addition, we discussed current strategies taken in Japan and pointed out some issues worth to be considered for improvement of these strategies in future.

抄録全体を表示

Norovirus食中毒における年別，月別，週別，日別，曜日別の発生頻度は，｢全国食中毒事件録｣第三篇に収録されている1998年〜2008年の11年間の発生年月日，発生件数，患者数を用い検討した。
年別発生頻度は2003年〜2008年の間が平均値を超えた高い期間であった。発生頻度が上限値を超えた2006年は異常に高い年であった。
月別発生頻度は12月，1月，2月，3月，11月の順に高く，冬季に発生が集中していた。12月と1月の間は有意差が認められなかったが，12月および1月は他の月との間で有意差が認められた。したがって，12月および1月は発生頻度が高い月であった。
週別発生頻度は発生件数が第47週から第14週，患者数が第47週から第13週までの間が連続して平均値を超えた高い期間であった。中でも発生頻度は第51週が有意に高く，第52週および第1週の年末年始の週が有意に低くかった。
日別発生頻度は発生件数が11月17日〜3月31日の間，患者数が11月15日〜4月2日の間が平均値を超えた高い期間であった。 中でも発生頻度は12月9日，12月10日，12月16日，12月23日など12月中旬の第51週の日が特に高かった。12月29日，12月30日，1月2日，1月3日など年始年末に当たる日は平均値を下回り発生頻度が低かった。
曜日別発生頻度は土曜日，日曜日，金曜日，月曜日，火曜日，木曜日，水曜日の順に高かった。土曜日と日曜日の間には有意差が認められなかったが，土曜日および日曜日は他の曜日との間で有意差が認められた。したがって，土曜日および日曜日は発生頻度が高い曜日であった。

抄録全体を表示

雌豚における繁殖性は，経済的に重要な形質である。繁殖性に関与しているホルモン制御機構には，たくさんの因子が関与しており，下垂体から合成・分泌されているホルモンは，繁殖性に様々な影響を及ぼす。PROP1は，下垂体特異的に発現する転写因子であり，PRL・GHなどの産生を調節している。本研究は，雌豚の繁殖形質に着目し，PROP1遺伝子3′UTRに存在する2箇所のSNPの相関性について解析した。供試動物は，ランドレース（L）種39頭とランドレースとラージホワイトの一代交雑（LW）種277頭を用いた。PROP1遺伝子3′UTRに存在する2箇所のSNP (c.1257 G>T, c.1273 A>G）のDNA型判定を行った。繁殖成績は，総分娩回数1971における総産子数・生存産子数・死亡子豚数・白子数・ミイラ子豚数・妊娠期間・授乳期間・補正21日齢一腹子豚体重・離乳後初回交配日数・初回交配日齢を抽出した。c.1257 G>TにおけるL種の遺伝子型頻度はGG型61.5%, GT型35.9%, TT型2.6%, LW種はGG型88.1%, GT型11.9%, TT型0.0%であった。c.1273 A>GにおけるL種の遺伝子型頻度はAA型77.0%, AG型23.0%, LW種はAA型78.0%, AG型22.0%であった。c.1257 G>T多型は，L種において総産子数（p<0.01）・生存産子数（p<0.01）で有意な相関性を示した。c.1273 A>G多型は，L種において生存産子数（p<0.05），LW種において総産子数（p<0.05）・生存産子数（p<0.01）で有意な相関性を示した。以上のことから，ブタPROP1遺伝子3′UTRに存在する2箇所のSNPは，雌豚繁殖形質に関する遺伝子マーカーになる可能性を示唆した。

抄録全体を表示

African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks which originated from Africa were chronologically reviewed with emphasis on how they were spread to Europe and the other continents. In 2007, ASF suddenly appeared in the countries in the east end of the Black Sea including Russia. As the disease has been well established in Russia, the strategies for ASF should be planned to fight against its risks from two continents, Africa and Russia (Eurasia). It will be extremely difficult to prevent the entry of ASF-infected wildlife from the countries that share land borders. Special attention should be paid to the fact that more than 50% of the swine population of the world is located in China. Feasibility studies should be performed to separate them from infected boars and feral swine by reinforcing barriers such as the Great Wall of China by adding wire walls and new electro-devices.

抄録全体を表示

Norovirus is a genus in caliciviridae and includes a single species called norwalk virus. Human noroviruses are major pathogens of acute gastroenteritis, especially in winter, and are transmitted via a fecal-oral route, either by ingestion of food or water contaminated with feces or by direct or indirect contact with the vomit or feces of an infected person. The number of patients infected with noroviruses has accounted for half of all of the patients with food poisoning in recent years in Japan. Epidemiological features of norovirus outbreaks have changed in recent years:for instance, foodborne outbreaks associated with foods contaminated from an infected food handler other than bivalve mollusks such as oysters have increased, and outbreaks in elderly facilities have increased. New variant strains of GII.4 have emerged every year or every few years because the genome of GII.4 changes more frequently than the genomes of other genotypes. The emergence of GII.4 2006b and GII.4 Sydney 2012 variants led to many outbreaks in the 2006/07 and 2012/13 seasons, respectively. Point mutations and recombinations in the genome may be responsible for the evolution of noroviruses. Noroviruses have been detected not only in humans but also in animals such as cattle, pigs and mice. There is no direct evidence that noroviruses cause zoonotic transmission, but some reports have indicated that possibility. There is a need for an approach from the viewpoint of zoonosis in the future studies.

抄録全体を表示