A research group consisting of Professor Hidenao Sasaki, Associate Professor Ichiro Yabe of the Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, and Professor Kentaro Yoshii of the Nagasaki University Joint Research Center for Infectious Diseases has conducted tick-mediated encephalitis in patients with neurological diseases and healthy subjects in Hokkaido. As a result of investigating the infection status of the virus, the latest infection was found in 3 people, and the past infection was found in 5 people.This is the first large-scale tick-borne encephalitis infection survey in Japan.
According to Hokkaido University, the research group examined the blood of people with neurological disorders and 2010 healthy people in Hokkaido collected between 2018 and 250 to see if there were any antibodies that showed that they had been infected with the tick-borne encephalitis virus in the past. I checked.
As a result, among patients with inflammatory diseases such as meningitis and encephalitis, antibodies showing the latest infection were found in 3 patients, and it was found that they were tick-borne encephalitis.In addition, antibodies indicating past viral infections were detected in 4 patients with neurological disorders and 1 healthy subject.
Tick-borne encephalitis is a tick-borne infectious disease that affects 1 patients annually throughout the Eurasian continent.It causes neurological disorders due to severe encephalitis and has a high case fatality rate.Five patients have been confirmed in Hokkaido, two of whom have died, but in Japan the status of tick-borne encephalitis virus infection is not well understood and it is suspected that some patients have been overlooked.
Since this survey confirmed people who developed tick-borne encephalitis virus and developed encephalitis and meningitis, the research group will suppress the epidemic of tick-borne encephalitis by further research such as infection survey. It is expected to lead to the formulation of measures.
Paper information:[Microorganisms] A Retrospective Epidemiological Study of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus in Patients with Neurological Disorders in Hokkaido, Japan
