A Case of Food Poisoning Caused by Campylobacter jejuni after the Ingestion of Undercooked Chicken Meal with Subsequent Development of Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the major bacterial strains that cause diarrhea in humans. It has been associated with many cases of food poisoning in Japan caused by eating raw, undercooked, and/or improperly prepared chicken meat, liver, and grilled chicken (Yakitori). Campylobacter jejuni is also known to be a preceding infectious pathogen of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), which has a considerably negative health impact on humans.

Growth and Survival of Escherichia albertii in Food and Environmental Water at Various Temperatures.

Escherichia albertii is an emerging foodborne pathogen that causes diarrhea. E. albertii has been isolated from various foods, including pork and chicken meat, and environmental waters, such as river water.

Reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes through the integrated improvement of diabetes care by comparing two prospective observational cohorts in real-world clinical practice (JDDM 72).

Aim: To investigate whether any reduction in all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease morbidity was found over the decade in type 2 diabetes on real-world practice.

Methods: A prospective observational study was performed by following two independent cohorts recruited in 2004 (n = 3286, Cohort 1) and 2014 (n = 3919, Cohort 2). The primary outcome was a composite of onset of cardiovascular disease and death.

Detection of Escherichia albertii in Retail Oysters.

Abstract: Escherichia albertii is an emerging foodborne pathogen. Owing to its distribution in river water, it is important to determine the presence of E. albertii in aquaculture-related foods.

Whole-Genome Sequencing of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli OX18 from a Fatal Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Case.

We report a fatal case of hemolytic uremic syndrome with urinary tract infection in Japan caused by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. We genotypically identified the isolate as OX18:H2. Whole-genome sequencing revealed 3 potentially pathogenic lineages (OX18:H2, H19, and H34) that have been continuously isolated in Japan.

Additional Og-Typing PCR Techniques Targeting Escherichia coli-Novel and -Unique O-Antigen Biosynthesis Gene Clusters.

The O-serogrouping of pathogenic is a standard method for subtyping strains for epidemiological studies and controls. O-serogroup diversification shows a strong association with the genetic diversity in some O-antigen biosynthesis gene clusters. Through genomic studies, in addition to the types of O-antigen biosynthesis gene clusters (Og-types) from conventional O-serogroup strains, a number of novel Og-types have been found in isolates.

Comparison between patients with norovirus-related gastroenteritis and asymptomatic carriers with respect to distribution of antibody-complexed viral particles and intestinal flora.

Asymptomatic carriers have a major influence on the spreading of norovirus infections. The objective of this study was to examine the characteristics of patients and asymptomatic carriers affected by norovirus-related community gastroenteritis outbreaks. No significant difference between the two groups was observed in terms of the number of norovirus-antibody complexes with respect to total numbers.

Phylogenetic Clades 6 and 8 of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 With Particular stx Subtypes are More Frequently Found in Isolates From Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Patients Than From Asymptomatic Carriers.

Background: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 infection causes severe diseases such as bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Although EHEC O157:H7 strains have exhibited high genetic variability, their abilities to cause human diseases have not been fully examined.

Methods: Clade typing and stx subtyping of EHEC O157:H7 strains, which were isolated in Japan during 1999-2011 from 269 HUS patients and 387 asymptomatic carriers (ACs) and showed distinct pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns, were performed to determine relationships between specific lineages and clinical presentation.

Four foodborne disease outbreaks caused by a new type of enterotoxin-producing Clostridium perfringens.

The epidemiological and bacteriological investigations on four foodborne outbreaks caused by a new type of enterotoxin-producing Clostridium perfringens are described. C. perfringens isolated from patients of these outbreaks did not produce any known enterotoxin and did not carry the C.

Bacteriological and epidemiological characteristics of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated in Tokyo, Japan, between 1966 and 2009.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) caused 131 outbreaks in Tokyo, Japan, between 1966 and 2009. The major serogroups were O6, O27, O148, and O159. The incidence of serogroups O25 and O169 recently increased.

[Detection of norovirus RNA in bivalve molluscs by using bacteria-culture-employed method (A3T method)].

Norovirus (NV) RNA has rarely been detected in foods despite the use of highly sensitive methods such as RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR. In the modified method (A3T method) reported previously, a bacterial culture process was introduced into the standard protocol for NV detection to remove some inhibitor(s) present in food ingredients. To confirm the efficiency of the A3T method and to examine NV contamination in bivalve molluscs, we tried to detect NV RNA in bivalve molluscs on the market and in oyster samples associated with foodborne outbreaks by using the standard method and the A3T method.

[Colony-sweep PCR efficacy in food-borne outbreak associated with six types of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli].

A box-lunch-associated food-borne outbreak occurred in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture in June 2003 involved six types of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Fecal specimens from patients were screened for ETEC using colony-sweep polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Of the 84 fecal specimens examined, 56 (66.

Multiple-locus variable-number of tandem-repeats analysis distinguishes Vibrio parahaemolyticus pandemic O3:K6 strains.

A specific serotype of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, O3:K6, has recently been linked to epidemics of gastroenteritis in Southeast Asia, Japan, and North America. These pandemic O3:K6 strains appear to have recently spread across continents from a single origin to reach global coverage, based on profiling of strains by several molecular typing methods. In this study, variable-number tandem repeats (VNTR)-based fingerprinting was applied to clinical and environmental V.

[Assessment of pathophysiology based on the left ventricular shape in five patients with midventricular obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy].

Objectives: The pathophysiology of midventricular obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (MVO) is unknown. Patients with MVO and MVO-like cardiomyopathy were classified into three groups based on the cardioimaging morphological characteristics of the left ventricle to investigate their complications and treatment.

Methods: Four patients with MVO and one patient with disease-like MVO were admitted in our hospital from 1999 to 2005.

[Isolation of thermostable direct hemolysin producing Vibrio parahaemolyticus from food using screening by PCR in food-borne outbreaks].

The producibility of thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) is the most important pathogenic factor in Vibrio parahaemolyticus. TDH (+) V. parahaemolyticus is usually isolated from patients having V.

Severe pulmonary hypertension associated with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Severe pulmonary hypertension is one of the fetal complications in various connective tissue diseases. We report a case of severe pulmonary hypertension associated with primary Sjögren's syndrome. In a lung biopsy specimen, there were findings of intimal and medial hypertrophy with narrowing vessel lumina and plexiform lesions.

[Isolation and serotypes of Vero toxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) from pigeons and crows].

To clarify the source and route of infection with Vero toxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) in humans, we sampled gastrointestinal contents and isolated VTEC from wild birds captured to exterminate harmful birds between August 1997 and January 1998. Pigeons were caught in Sagamihara-shi and crows were caught in Sagamihara-shi, Kawasaki-shi, Yokohama-shi, and the Tokyo metropolitan area. The following results were obtained.