Influenza Virus Shedding in Laninamivir-Treated Children upon Returning to School.

The current School Health and Safety Act in Japan states that children with influenza infection should stay home until day 6(th) after symptoms onset. This was an amendment of a previous version recommending school return on day 3 after defervescence. Here, we investigated the duration of fever and virus shedding after laninamivir treatment in 7 children infected with influenza A(H3N2) virus and 21 children with influenza B virus in relation to the school return timing recommended by the School Health and Safety Act during the 2011-2012 influenza season.

Incidence survey of acute otitis media in children in Sado Island, Japan--Sado Otitis Media Study (SADOMS).

Background: Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common forms of bacterial infection and cause for clinic visits in children. The incidence of AOM was 0.9-1.

Molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from children in a community with low antimicrobial pressure in Japan.

Sado Island in Japan is an area with low antimicrobial pressure. A total of 41 community-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates were obtained from pediatric outpatients and healthy children between August 2009 and January 2012, and genotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the MRSA isolates were performed. Additionally, the sources of MRSA isolated from healthy 1-month-old neonates were assessed.

Genotyping of Haemophilus influenzae type b in pre-vaccination era.

Identification of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in asymptomatic carriers is critical to control the spread of disease. This study was conducted between January 2008 and August 2011 as part of a birth cohort study in Sado Island, Japan, to elucidate the prevalence of Hib and its clones in a specific region. Nasopharyngeal cultures were obtained from 349 subjects at 4-, 7-, 10-, 18-, and 36-month health checkups and analyzed for H.