Measles Outbreak Response Activity in Japan, and a Discussion for a Possible Strategy of Outbreak Response Using Cycle Threshold Values of Real-Time Reverse Transcription PCR for Measles Virus in Measles Elimination Settings.

Measles is a highly contagious, but vaccine-preventable disease caused by the measles virus (MeV). Although the administration of two doses of measles vaccines is the most effective strategy to prevent and eliminate measles, MeV continues to spread worldwide, even in 2022. In measles-eliminated countries, preparedness and response to measles outbreaks originating from imported cases are required to maintain elimination status.

Epidemiology of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, January-May 2020: the Importance of Retrospective Contact Tracing.

Public health interventions have played an important role in controlling coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is a rapidly spreading infectious disease. To contribute to future COVID-19 countermeasures, we aimed to verify the results of the countermeasures employed by public health centers (PHCs) against the first wave of COVID-19 in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan (Yamagata). Between January and May 2020, 1,253 patients suspected of SARS-CoV-2 infection were invited for testing.

Nosocomial Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission by brief casual contact identified using comparative genomics.

This paper reports a case of nosocomial transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by brief casual contact. Routine variable number tandem repeat typing in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan found that M. tuberculosis clinical isolates from two patients showed indistinguishable genotypes.

A case of laboratory cross-contamination of identified using comparative genomics.

Background: Two false-positive tuberculosis (TB) cases in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, 2016.

Objective: To report the effectiveness of comparative genomics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for identification of cross-contamination cases.

Design: Case report of laboratory cross-contamination.

The Largest Measles Outbreak, Including 38 Modified Measles and 22 Typical Measles Cases in Its Elimination Era in Yamagata, Japan, 2017.

The incidence of modified measles (M-Me), characterized by milder symptoms than those of typical measles (T-Me), has been increasing in Japan. However, the outbreak dominated by M-Me cases has not been thoroughly investigated worldwide. The largest importation-related outbreak of measles with genotype D8 occurred in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, from March to April 2017.

Convenient PCR method for variable-number tandem-repeat typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates.

Variable-number tandem-repeat typing for Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates contributes to evidence-based tuberculosis control. However, cumbersome PCR procedures for the typing have disturbed routine analyses. We proposed a convenient PCR method for the typing using a PCR master mix that provides rapidity and long-term stability of the frozen PCR cocktail.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Transmission among Elderly Persons, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, 2009-2015.

In many countries with low to moderate tuberculosis (TB) incidence, cases have shifted to elderly persons. It is unclear, however, whether these cases are associated with recent Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission or represent reactivation of past disease. During 2009-2015, we performed a population-based TB investigation in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, using in-depth contact tracing and 24-loci variable-number tandem-repeat typing optimized for Beijing family M.

[COMPARISON OF QuantiFERON® TB GOLD TEST RESULTS BEFORE AND AFTER ENDOTOXIN CONTAMINATION].

Purpose: In response to a case of endotoxin contamination of tubes used in QuantiFERON® TB Gold (QFT-3G) testing in Japan in 2013, the effect of this contamination on QFT-3G test results was investigated.

Methods: We analyzed QFT-3G results from 4,258 participants in a tuberculosis contact investigation in Yamagata, Japan from September 2010 to April 2015. Of these, 2,488 samples were collected before the endotoxin contamination, while 1,770 samples were collected after the contamination.

Phylogenetic assignment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing clinical isolates in Japan by maximum a posteriori estimation.

Intra-species phylogeny of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been regarded as a clue to estimate its potential risk to develop drug-resistance and various epidemiological tendencies. Genotypic characterization of variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR), a standard tool to ascertain transmission routes, has been improving as a public health effort, but determining phylogenetic information from those efforts alone is difficult. We present a platform based on maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation to estimate phylogenetic information for M.

Clonality and micro-diversity of a nationwide spreading genotype of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Japan.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission routes can be estimated from genotypic analysis of clinical isolates from patients. In Japan, still a middle-incidence country of TB, a unique genotype strain designated as 'M-strain' has been isolated nationwide recently. To ascertain the history of the wide spread of the strain, 10 clinical isolates from different areas were subjected to genome-wide analysis based on deep sequencers.

[Effectiveness of interferon-gamma release assays in the tuberculosis contact investigation of elderly people].

Purpose: To confirm the effectiveness of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) in the tuberculosis (TB) contact investigation of elderly people, we analyzed the results of the QuantiFERON TB Gold in tube (QFT-3G) test, which is a commercially available IGRA.

Methods: We analyzed the results of the QFT-3G test in 2,420 subjects who were in close contact with TB patients. We investigated subjects with latent TB infection and those showing the onset of TB among the QFT-3G-positive subjects.

[Effectiveness of comprehensive variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis in areas with a low incidence of tuberculosis].

Purpose: To ascertain the effectiveness of variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis in areas with a low incidence of tuberculosis (TB), we examined the combination of comprehensive VNTR analyses and field epidemiological investigation results in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, where estimated incidence of new TB cases per 100,000 population was 11.3 in 2011.

Methods: We collected Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from 184 (69.

Isolation of vaccine-derived measles viruses from children with acute respiratory infection.

The measles elimination project led by the World Health Organization (WHO) has been moving toward the target of eliminating measles in the WHO Western Pacific Region. In Japan, prefectural public health institutes play a key role for the laboratory diagnosis of measles virus (MV) infection, which is based on PCR, virus isolation, and genotyping. Microscopic examination of viral-sensitive cell lines during routine virus isolation from nasopharyngeal specimens has been used to detect the morphological changes typical for the growth of respiratory viruses.

Molecular epidemiology of Coxsackievirus A16 strains isolated from children in Yamagata, Japan between 1988 and 2011.

To clarify the longitudinal molecular epidemiology of coxsackievirus A16, phylogenetic analysis based on the VP1 region of 220 isolates in Yamagata, Japan was performed. The resultant phylogenetic tree indicates that the Yamagata isolates and reference strains can be readily genotyped into three genogroups, and 0, 12 and 208 isolates belonged to the first, second, and third genogroups, respectively. The first genogroup includes only the prototype strain, the second strains that had disappeared by the end of the 20th century and the third comprises those that have been circulating since then in local communities, such as Yamagata.

Seasonal patterns of respiratory syncytial virus, influenza A virus, human metapneumovirus, and parainfluenza virus type 3 infections on the basis of virus isolation data between 2004 and 2011 in Yamagata, Japan.

Most acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are thought to be associated with respiratory viruses that cause similar symptoms. Therefore, assessment of clinical and epidemiologic features of these viruses is important for diagnosing a viral infection. We collected 13,325 nasopharyngeal specimens from patients with ARIs and isolated the virus using a microplate method involving 7 cell lines between 2004 and 2011 in Yamagata, Japan.

Epidemic myalgia in adults associated with human parechovirus type 3 infection, Yamagata, Japan, 2008.

Human parechovirus has rarely been shown to cause clinical disease in adults. During June-August 2008, a total of 22 adults sought treatment at Yonezawa City Hospital in Yamagata, Japan, for muscle pain and weakness of all limbs; most also had fever and sore throat. All patients received a clinical diagnosis of epidemic myalgia; clinical laboratory findings suggested an acute inflammatory process.

Epidemiology of parainfluenza virus types 1, 2 and 3 infections based on virus isolation between 2002 and 2011 in Yamagata, Japan.

To clarify the epidemiology of viral acute respiratory infections (ARIs), 305 human parainfluenza virus types 1 (HPIV1), 154 HPIV2 and 574 HPIV3 strains were isolated from 16,962 nasopharyngeal swabs obtained between 2002 and 2011 at pediatric clinics in Yamagata, Japan. The total isolation frequency for HPIV1-3 was 6.1%.

Possible involvement of transient receptor potential channels in electrophile-induced insulin secretion from RINm5F cells.

Endogenously produced reactive oxygen species reportedly stimulate insulin secretion from islet β-cells. However, the molecular machinery that governs the oxidant-induced insulin secretion has yet to be determined. The present study demonstrates, using rat islet β-cell-derived RINm5F cells, the involvement of the transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channels in the insulin secretion induced by the lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal.

Impact of mental disorders on work performance in a community sample of workers in Japan: the World Mental Health Japan Survey 2002-2005.

Most studies that investigate the impact of mental disorders on work performance have been conducted in Western countries, but this study examines the impact of common mental disorders on sick leave and on-the-job work performance in a community sample of Japanese workers. Data from the World Mental Health Japan survey were analyzed. A subsample of 530 workers aged 20-60years were interviewed using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.