title: A case of tick-borne encephalitis in Japan and isolation of the the virus.
abstract: A case of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has not been reported for many years in Japan, although a serological survey of sera from domestic animals suggested the presence of TBE foci in Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan. Studies were conducted to prove the presence of an endemic focus of TBE virus in Japan by means of serology and virus isolation. In October 1993 in Hokkaido, a severe case of encephalitis in a dairy farmer's wife was diagnosed as TBE. Serological examination of paired serum specimens showed a rise in the neutralization antibody titer to Russian spring summer encephalitis virus. A seroepizootiological survey of dogs showed that the TBE-related virus was prevalent in the area. Three virus isolates were obtained from the blood of sentinel dogs, and antigenic analysis grouped the isolates into TBE-related viruses. Sequence analysis of the envelope protein gene identified one of the isolates as being of the same subtype as the Russian spring summer encephalitis (Far Eastern TBE) virus. The results provide evidence that TBE is endemic in a certain area of Japan.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Public Health, Department of Environmental Veterinary Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hayasaka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Takezawa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Igarashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kariwa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshimatsu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arikawa
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000821:virology; D004285:Dogs; D004669:Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004675:Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal