ABSTRACTThe vaccine strains against influenza virus A/H3N2 for the 2010-2011 season and influenza virus B for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons in Japan are a high-growth reassortant A/Victoria/210/2009 (X-187) strain and an egg-adapted B/Brisbane/60/2008 (Victoria lineage) strain, respectively. Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) tests with postinfection ferret antisera indicated that the antisera raised against the X-187 and egg-adapted B/Brisbane/60/2008 vaccine production strains poorly inhibited recent epidemic isolates of MDCK-grown A/H3N2 and B/Victoria lineage viruses, respectively. The low reactivity of the ferret antisera may be attributable to changes in the hemagglutinin (HA) protein of production strains during egg adaptation. To evaluate the efficacy of A/H3N2 and B vaccines, the cross-reactivities of postvaccination human serum antibodies against A/H3N2 and B/Victoria lineage epidemic isolates were assessed by a comparison of the geometric mean titers (GMTs) of HI and neutralization (NT) tests. Serum antibodies elicited by the X-187 vaccine had low cross-reactivity to both MDCK- and egg-grown A/H3N2 isolates by HI test and narrow cross-reactivity by NT test in all age groups. On the other hand, the GMTs to B viruses detected by HI test were below the marginal level, so the cross-reactivity was assessed by NT test. The serum neutralizing antibodies elicited by the B/Brisbane/60/2008 vaccine reacted well with egg-grown B viruses but exhibited remarkably low reactivity to MDCK-grown B viruses. The results of these human serological studies suggest that the influenza A/H3N2 vaccine for the 2010-2011 season and B vaccine for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons may possess insufficient efficacy and low efficacy, respectively.

No abstract

No abstract

Incidences of community-acquired infectious diseases other than COVID-19 decreased during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic; however, exanthema subitum incidence before (2016–2019) and during the pandemic (2020) in Niigata, Japan, did not substantially differ, although the proportion of age less than 1-year-old was lower in 2020. These findings suggest that exanthema subitum is transmitted mainly among family members, not in the community.

No abstract

No abstract

This study aimed to investigate the recent prevalence of intestinal parasites and enteric bacterial pathogen (diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Yersinia sp., Campylobacter sp.) in companion animals in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. From May to December each of 2015 and 2016, fecal samples were collected from 136 dogs and 176 cats in Niigata public animal shelters and were examined parasitologically and bacteriologically in Niigata prefectural institute of public health and environmental sciences. Overall, the prevalence of intestinal parasites in dogs and cats were 3.7% and 42.0%, and of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli were 19.1% and 15.3%, respectively. In dogs, Spirometra erinaceieuropaei (2.9%), Pharyngostomum cordatum (0.7%), and Cytoisospora canis (0.7%) were detected of intestinal parasites. Eae positive E.coli (10.3%), astA positive E.coli (8.1%), Campylobacter sp. (1.5%), eae-astA positive E.coli (0.7%), and eae-astA-bfpA positive E.coli (0.7%) were detected of enteric bacterial pathogen. However, in cats, Toxocara cati was the most prevalent parasite species (31.3%), followed by S.erinaceieuropaei (10.2%), C.felis (6.3%), and Ancylostoma tubaeforme (5.7%). Eae positive E.coli (11.4%), astA positive E.coli (4.5%), eae-bfpA positive E.coli (1.1%), and eae-astA positive E.coli (0.6%) were detected of bacteria. Epidemiologically, it is suggested that parasitic infection is related to the condition of animals, such as captured, bred outdoors, and bred in large-scale. Although some Escherichia coli strains with virulence gene were isolated, these strains were possibly indigenous bacterium in dogs and cats. These data will be useful resources for the dissemination and awareness raising of public health about keeping animals. This study also suggests that research about zoonotic pathogens in shelter animals, sharing the role between shelters and laboratory, as for the former, specimen collection, the latter are examination, will be a useful model for surveillance of zoonotic diseases.

No abstract