Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases
Online ISSN : 1884-2836
Print ISSN : 1344-6304
ISSN-L : 1344-6304
64 巻, 2 号
選択された号の論文の19件中1~19を表示しています
Review
  • Haruko Shirato
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 95-103
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    Norovirus (NoV), a member of the family Caliciviridae, is a major cause of acute water- and food-borne nonbacterial gastroenteritis and forms antigenically diverse groups of viruses. Human NoVs are divided into at least three genogroups, genogroups I (GI), GII, and GIV, which contain at least 15, 18, and 1 genotypes, respectively. Except for a few genotypes, all NoVs bind to histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs), namely ABH antigens and Lewis antigens, in which carbohydrate core structures, (types 1 and 2) constitute antigenically distinct phenotypes. Volunteer challenge studies have indicated that carbohydrate binding is essential for genogroup I genotype 1 (GI/1) infection. Non-secretors who do not express FUT2 fucosyltransferase, and consequently do not express H type 1 or Lewis b antigens in the gut, are not infected after challenge with GI/1. NoV virus-like particles (VLPs), which are recombinant particles that are morphologically and antigenically similar to the native virion, display different ABH and Le carbohydrate-binding profiles in vitro. Epidemiological studies have shown that individuals with different ABH phenotypes are infected with NoV strains in a genotype-specific manner. On the other hand, an in vitro binding assay using NoV VLPs showed a uniform recognition pattern against type 1 and 2 core structures, and bind more tightly to type 1 carbohydrates than to type 2. Type 1 carbohydrates are expressed at the surface of the small intestine and are presumably targeted by NoV. This property may afford NoV tissue specificity. GII/4 includes global epidemic strains and binds to more HBGAs than other genogroups. This characteristic may be linked to the worldwide transmission of GII/4 strains. Although it is still unclear whether HBGAs act as primary receptors or enhance NoV infectivity, they are important factors in determining tissue specificity and the risk of transmission.

Original Articles
  • Daisuke Furuya, Kageaki Kuribayashi, Yukie Hosono, Naoki Tsuji, Momoko ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 104-108
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    Norovirus is one of the leading causes of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Although it is becoming clear that viral excretion in the stool continues even after the clinical symptoms have disappeared, the factors that determine its duration remain unknown. Between 2007 and 2009, all inpatients and medical staff at our hospital who showed symptoms of a new onset of gastroenteritis were asked to submit a sample for norovirus testing by real-time RT-PCR. One of the 273 patients included tested positive for GI norovirus, and a further 89 were positive for GII norovirus. Of these 90 norovirus-positive individuals, 76% excreted norovirus RNA in the stool for more than 7 days. The inpatient group contained more long shedders than the medical staff group (5/32 versus 1/39, P<0.05). The median viral shedding duration was 19.3 and 15.2 days for inpatients and medical staff, respectively. Among hospitalized patients, younger individuals, those with a higher viral copy number, and individuals receiving immunosuppressive therapy tended to require a longer time to eliminate the virus. These patients should therefore be monitored and managed carefully to prevent nosocomial spread of the disease.

  • Promsin Masrinoul, Magot Omokoko Diata, Sabar Pambudi, Kriengsak Limki ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 109-115
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    Dengue virus (DENV) nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) is a major target of humoral immunity in patients and is believed to be involved in DENV pathogenesis. In addition, NS1 is a diagnostic target as it is secreted, and circulates, in patients’ plasma at an early stage of viral infection. In this study, we aimed to identify common epitope regions for all serotypes by preparation of mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against NS1. A total of 10 out of the 20 hybridoma clones which were specific to DENV produced MAbs that recognized NS1. These MAbs mapped to three regions of DENV-2 NS1, namely amino acids 1‒40 (epitope region 1), 141‒168 (epitope region 2), and 267‒312 (epitope region 3). Epitope region 2 was recognized by both complex-specific (2H11 and 3C4) and subcomplex-specific MAbs (4E5 and 5G12), whereas epitope regions 1 and 3 were recognized by subcomplex-specific MAbs (5E2, 1A5, and 3F10) only. These epitope regions were found to be highly conserved among all four serotypes of DENV by sequence analysis and database comparison. The MAbs against these epitope regions, especially 2H11 and 3C4, could therefore be valuable diagnostic tools.

  • Takahiro Takazono, Koichi Izumikawa, Yosuke Nagayoshi, Akitaka Tanaka, ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 116-120
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    The Cica Fungi Test Candida is a novel immunoassay test that is used in Japan to detect Candida mannan antigens. A total of 130 samples from 89 cases in which the β-D-glucan assay (MK method) was positive were collected between July 2007 and August 2008 at Nagasaki University Hospital, and the Cica Fungi Test Candida and Cand-Tec were performed. Diagnosis of candidemia was based on a positive culture for Candida spp. from blood or other sterile clinical specimens. A total of 19 samples from 16 cases with candidemia, and 111 samples from 73 cases without microbiological evidence of candidemia, were obtained. The sensitivity and specificity of the Cica Fungi Test and Cand-Tec were 63.2 and 95.5%, and 52.6 and 50.5%, respectively. The Cica Fungi Test showed significantly higher specificity than Cand-Tec (P<0.01). The β-D-glucan assay values were significantly higher in the candidemia samples than in the non-candidemia samples (P=0.0003), a result that was well correlated with the Cica Fungi Test (P=0.0005). The Cica Fungi Test was thus found to be more reliable and specific than Cand-Tec, and the combined evaluation with the β-D-glucan assay was more efficient for diagnosis of candidemia.

  • Tomoyuki Shiota, Ichiro Kurane, Shigeru Morikawa, Masayuki Saijo
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 121-126
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infections in a child with congenital immunodeficiency syndrome were observed over a 10-year period. The child suffered from recurrent and severe HSV-1 mucocutaneous infections. He frequently suffered from acyclovir (ACV)-resistant (ACVr) HSV-1 infection in the later phase of his life, especially after the episode of ACVr HSV-1 infection. Virological analyses on the HSV-1 isolates recovered from this patient revealed that all the ACVr HSV-1 isolates were thymidine kinase (TK)-negative (TK-) due to a single cytosine (C) deletion within the 4-C residues (positions 1061 to 1064) in the TK gene, indicating that the recurrent TK-/ACVr HSV-1 infections throughout the patient's life were due to the identical ACVr HSV-1 strain. Furthermore, it was found that the ACV-sensitive (ACVs) isolate recovered from the skin lesions that appeared between the episodes of ACVr infection at the ages of 8 and 9 contained ACVr HSV-1 with the same mutation in the TK gene. These results indicate that, although TK activity is required for reactivation of TK+/ACVs HSV-1 from latency and TK-/ACVr HSV-1 is unable to reactivate from latency, the TK-/ACVr HSV-1 strain isolated herein reactivated in this patient, possibly by using the TK activity induced by the latently co-infected TK+/ACVs HSV-1.

  • Usama Salah Belal, Kazumi Norose, Rabie Mohamed Mohamed, Koji Naoi, Ak ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 127-132
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    The possibility of Toxoplasma gondii infection resulting from transplantation of a skin graft and various organs has been investigated. The parasite was detected in very low numbers in all organs examined in wild-type (WT) BALB/c (B/c) mice that received skin grafts from infected interferon gamma knockout (GKO) B/c mice both with and without sulfamethoxazole treatment; all recipient mice survived. In contrast, transplantation of skin grafts from untreated infected WT B/c mice to naïve GKO B/c mice led to the death of all recipients within 20 days post-transplantation; T. gondii was found to be disseminated in all organs examined. Similar results were obtained after transplantation of skin from untreated and treated GKO B/c mice to naïve GKO B/c mice, whereas the recipient GKO B/c mice died within 10 days after intraperitoneal transplantation of lung, heart, brain or small intestine from infected untreated GKO B/c mice. These results indicate that skin grafts as well as various organs infected with T. gondii can be sources of infection in immunocompromised hosts. Toxoplasmosis should therefore be taken into consideration during organ transplantation to immunocompromised hosts.

  • Kiyoko Takayanagi, Misako Aoki, Kumiko Aman, Satoshi Mitarai, Nobuyuki ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 133-138
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    The reported effect of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy on interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) release in response to specific Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens has been inconsistent. The objective of this study was therefore to determine the effect of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy on IFN-γ response to ESAT-6 and CFP-10. QuantiFERON®-TB Gold (QFT-G) was performed, and the IFN-γ response to ESAT-6 and CFP-10 were measured, for 50 people with culture-confirmed tuberculosis prior to initiating treatment and periodically for up to 120 weeks following initiation of said treatment. IFN-γ responses and bacteriological response were compared. The average IFN-γ response to ESAT-6 and CFP-10 and the proportion of QFT-G results that were positive decreased during chemotherapy and for several weeks thereafter, reaching lows at weeks 48 to 56. Furthermore, these measures were lower at 48 weeks for those with bacteriological reversion prior to the second monthly visit than for those with slower reversion. Although it was shown that anti-tuberculosis treatment generally reduced the specific release of IFN-γ, the effect is so variable that it could be used as a monitor of progress of chemotherapy with great care and reservation.

Short Communications
  • Shih-Hao Chen, To Wang, Chen-Hsiang Lee
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 139-142
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    Ankle tuberculosis (TB) manifests with varying symptoms and is easily confused with pyogenic septic ankle arthritis. In this study, all patients with either ankle TB or pyogenic septic ankle arthritis who were admitted to a medical center in southern Taiwan between May 1986 and October 2006 were reviewed retrospectively to identify risk factors for ankle TB. Compared with the 42 patients with culture-confirmed pyogenic septic ankle arthritis, the 26 patients with ankle TB (12 definitive, 5 probable, and 9 possible) were significantly more likely to have evidence of TB on chest radiographs (50 versus 10%; P<0.01), a history of trauma (58 versus 17%; P<0.01), presentation with sinus discharge (50 versus 12%; P<0.01), duration of symptoms of more than 3 months (69 versus 12%; P<0.01), a leukocyte count of <10,000/μL (58 versus 29%; P=0.03), and C-reactive protein of <5 mg/dL (42 versus 17%; P=0.03). Evidence of TB on chest radiographs was identified as an independent risk factor for ankle TB (odds ratio=35.1; 95% confidence interval=1.6‒779.8; P=0.02) by multiple logistic regression analysis. Awareness of these factors is essential for the accurate and timely diagnosis of ankle TB.

  • Jian-Hong Li, Yu-Mao Cai, Yue-Ping Yin, Fu-Chang Hong, Mei-Qin Shi, Ti ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 143-146
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    To investigate the prevalence and genotype distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis infection among men who have sex with men (MSM), 145 MSM from two sauna settings in Shenzhen, China were invited to participate in this study during September 2008 and May 2009. Anorectal swab and urine samples were collected and tested for chlamydial infection, and positive samples were genotyped. The prevalence of anorectal chlamydial infection was 24% in the study population and was significantly associated with proctitis symptoms. Up to 50% of the anorectal infections were asymptomatic. The most prevalent genotypes were G (39%) and D (37%), followed by J (11%). Genotypes related to lymphogranuloma venereum were not found in the study population. The high prevalence of anorectal infection in MSM suggests the importance of detecting and treating the infection in this population.

  • Canan Kuzdan, Ahmet Soysal, Gülşen Altinkanat, Burak Aksu, Güner Söyle ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 147-149
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    Although necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a rapidly progressive infection, recurrent NF is very rare. Herein we report a rare case of recurrent NF due to Streptococcus pyogenes. A 12-year-old female with hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN) type IV presented with fever and swelling on her left knee. NF was diagnosed and she was treated successfully. Two years later she was readmitted with NF of the right knee and limb. Despite treatment, progressive tissue necrosis developed and proximal femur amputation was performed. Eight months following the second attack she was readmitted with NF of her left knee and her entire leg. Despite a wide surgical debridement and antibiotic treatment, the clinical status of the patient failed to improve and she subsequently died. Although many conditions have been reported to be predisposing factors for NF, this is the first report of an association between HSAN type IV and recurrent NF due to S. pyogenes. We recommend antibiotic prophylaxis for patients with NF due to S. pyogenes, especially for those with predisposing factors.

  • Keishin Sunagawa, Haruko Nishio, Noriko Kinukawa, Tsutomu Yamada, Nori ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 150-152
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    We report a rare autopsy case of disseminated strongyloidiasis combined with cytomegalovirus co-infection involving a 68-year-old man, who was originally from Okinawa Prefecture in southern Japan, where strongyloidiasis occurs sporadically among the elderly. This patient was admitted with a diagnosis of drug eruption and hypereosinophilic syndrome. He was administered steroid therapy, but suffered complications of fever, respiratory distress, and pulmonary hemorrhaging. The autopsy findings showed disseminated strongyloidiasis in the alveolar spaces and the intestine and cytomegalovirus inclusion body foci in the lungs.

  • Midori Hiroi, Tetsuya Harada, Fumihiko Kawamori, Naomi Takahashi, Taka ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 153-155
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    We surveyed β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli from farm animals (chickens, pigs, and cattle) and raw retail meat in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In total 305 E. coli isolates, 15 isolates collected from broilers, beef cattle, chicken meat, and pork meat, were found to have β-lactamase genes encoding CTX-M-2, CTX-M-14, CMY-2, SHV-2, and/or TEM-1, while 7 possessed mutations in the ampC promoter region. The findings suggest that broilers are more important than other farm animals with regards to the surveillance of β-lactamase-producing E. coli in this region.

  • Ryoma Nakao, Satoko Takigawa, Naoyuki Sugano, Ryosuke Koshi, Koichi It ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 156-160
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    Topical tetracyclines, such as minocycline ointment, are frequently used for the treatment of periodontal infection. We investigated the influence of minocycline ointment use on oral bacteria, using supragingival plaque samples from adults who had not taken any antibiotics for 6 months. Initially we investigated the effect of topical minocycline administration on the emergence of tetracycline-resistant oral bacteria in four healthy adults. The isolation frequency of tetracycline-resistant oral bacteria to total viable bacteria increased substantially on day 6 after treatment, although it returned to baseline on day 25. Subsequently we investigated the isolation frequency of tetracycline-resistant oral streptococci (TOS) as a representative oral bacterium, using samples from 41 subjects with periodontal diseases. The percentage of TOS (of the total oral streptococci) increased significantly (from 11.9±15.6% to 34.2±24.0%) after minocycline treatment. Various TOS species were identified; S. mitis, S. salivarius, S. sanguinis, and S. oralis were frequently isolated. PCR and Southern blotting allowed us to identify tetM on the Tn916-like elements as the gene responsible for tetracycline-resistance. These findings suggest that the potential risk of the spread of similar genetic elements through bacteria in the oral cavity should be considered.

  • Min-Yi Hou, Min-Nan Hung, Po-Shan Lin, Yung-Chung Wang, Chien-Chou Lin ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 161-162
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    We have developed a single-tube nested real-time PCR (STN-RT PCR) assay using the repetitive, transposon-like element IS1111 as the DNA target to facilitate early diagnosis of acute Q fever. The use of our proposed diagnostic procedures, including IgM detection by serology and the STN-RT PCR assay, significantly increased the diagnostic sensitivity for Q fever to 78%, compared to 29% when serology alone was used for subjects providing mainly acute-phase blood samples.

  • Norihito Tarumoto, Yoshinobu Abe, Toshiyuki Yamaguchi, Tomohiko Takasa ...
    2011 年 64 巻 2 号 p. 163-164
    発行日: 2011/03/31
    公開日: 2022/03/31
    ジャーナル フリー

    Dengue fever (DF) is a relatively common infection in travelers, with about 100 cases being reported annually in Japan, and this number is increasing. We herein describe two patients who developed a fever after returning to Japan from Southeast Asia and who were serologically diagnosed with DF. Patient 1 was a 19-year-old man who spent 6 days in Thailand and developed diarrhea and a fever after returning to Japan. Virological studies showed dengue virus (DV) serotype 3 by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), and anti-DV IgM and IgG antibodies were both positive by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Patient 2 was a 43-year-old man who spent time in various Asian countries and developed a fever and arthralgia after returning to Japan. Virological studies showed DV serotype 2 by RT-PCR, and anti-DV IgM and IgG antibodies were both positive by ELISA. DF and other febrile diseases, including Chikungunya fever, should be strongly suspected in patients who develop fever after returning to Japan from other Asian countries, irrespective of whether patients remember being bitten by mosquitoes.

Laboratory and Epidemiology Communications
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