Epidemiology of vaccine-preventable diseases in Japan: considerations for pre-travel advice for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games

Authors

  • Matthew M. Griffith Infectious Diseases Surveillance Center National Institute of Infectious Diseases Tokyo, Japan
  • Munehisa Fukusumi Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
  • Yusuke Kobayashi Field Epidemiology Training Program, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
  • Yusuke Matsui Field Epidemiology Training Program, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
  • Shingo Nishiki Field Epidemiology Training Program, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
  • Reiko Shimbashi Field Epidemiology Training Program, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
  • Saeko Morino Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
  • Tomimasa Sunagawa Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
  • Keiko Taya Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
  • Tamano Matsui Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
  • Kazunori Oishi Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5365/wpsar.2017.8.4.002

Abstract

Introduction: In 2019 and 2020, Japan will host two international sporting events estimated to draw a combined 22 million visitors. Mass gatherings like these ones increase the risk of spread of infectious disease outbreaks and international transmission. Pre-travel advice reduces that risk.

Methods: To assist ministries of health and related organizations in developing pre-travel advice, we summarized national surveillance data in Japan (2000–2016, to the extent available) for rubella, invasive pneumococcal disease, measles, non-A and non-E viral hepatitis, hepatitis A, invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease, tetanus, typhoid fever, invasive meningococcal disease, Japanese encephalitis, influenza, varicella, mumps and pertussis by calculating descriptive statistics of reported cases and reviewing trends. (See Annex A for details of reviewed diseases.)

Results: Our findings showed notable incidences of rubella (1.78 per 100 000 person-years), influenza (243.5 cases per sentinel site), and mumps (40.1 per sentinel site); seasonal increases for influenza (November–May) and Japanese encephalitis (August–November); and a geographical concentration of Japanese encephalitis in western Japan. Measles cases decreased from 11 013 in 2008 to 35 in 2015, but outbreaks (n = 165 cases) associated with importation occurred in 2016. Though invasive meningococcal disease incidence was only 0.03 per 100 000, international transmission occurred at a mass gathering in Japan in 2015.

Discussion: Ministries of health and related organizations should use these findings to develop targeted pre-travel advice for travellers to the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, especially for mumps, measles, rubella, influenza, and meningitis. Travellers with increased exposure risk should also be advised about hepatitis A and Japanese encephalitis.

References

Mizuho Research Institute. The Economic Impact of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. [Internet] 2014 Oct [cited: 2016 Aug 23]. Available from: http://www.mizuho-ri.co.jp/publication/research/pdf/eo/MEA141017.pdf.

World Health Organization. Public health for mass gatherings: key considerations. Geneva: WHO Press; 2015.

Gautret P, Steffen R. Communicable diseases as health risks at mass gatherings other than Hajj: what is the evidence? Int J Infect Dis. 2016; 47:46-52.

Santibanez K, Prosenc K, Lohr D, Pfaff G, Jordan Markocic O, Mankertz A. Measles virus spread initiated at international mass gatherings in Europe, 2011. Euro Surveill. 2014; 19(35):pii=20891.

World Health Organization. Brazil - Health advice for travellers to the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. [Internet] 2016 Sep [cited: 2017 Sep 1]. Available from: http://www.who.int/ith/updates/20160621/en/.

Alqahtani AS, Wiley KE, Tashani M, Willaby HW, Heywood AE, BinDhim NF, et al. Exploring barriers to and facilitators of preventive measures against infectious diseases among Australian Hajj pilgrims: cross-sectional studies before and after Hajj. Int J Infect Dis. 2016; 47:53-59.

National Institute of Infectious Diseases. [Case study of food poisoning by typhoid presumed to be caused by raw salad – Tokyo]. IASR monthly report. 2015; 36(8):162-163. Japanese.

Fukusumi M, Kamiya H, Takahashi H, Kanai M, Hachisu Y, Saitoh T, et al. National surveillance for meningococcal disease in Japan, 1999–2014. Vaccine. 2016; 34(34):4068–71.

Kanai M, Kamiya H, Smith-Palmer A, Takahashi H, Hachisu Y, Fukusumi M, et al. Meningococcal disease outbreak related to the World Scout Jamboree in Japan, 2015. Western Pac Surveill Response J. 2017; 8(2):25–30.

National Institue of Infectious Diseases. Measles in Japan, as of March 2015. IASR monthly report. 2015;36(4): 51–53.

National Institute of Infectious Diseases. [Outbreak of measles in business offices in Kansai International Airport]. IASR monthly report. 2017; 38(3):48-49. Japanese.

National Institute of Infectious Diseases. Hepatitis A in Japan, 2010-2014, as of November 2014. IASR monthly report. 2015; 36(1):1-2.

National Institue of Infectious Diseases. [On the results of the investigation of the vaccination history of "mumps vaccine" in recent years]. IASR monthly report. 2016; 37(10):198-199. Japanese.

Ihekweazu C, Basarab M, Wilson D, Oliver I, Dance D, George R, et al. Outbreaks of serious pneumococcal disease in closed settings in the post-antibiotic era: A systematic review. J Infect. 2010;61(1):21-27.

National Institue of Infectious Diseases. Rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in Japan, as of March 2013. IASR monthly report. 2013;34(4):87-89.

National Institute of Infectious Diseases. National epidemiological surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases, 2016: Age distribution of rubella HI antibody positives in Japan, 2016. [Internet] 2017 Mar [cited 2017 Sep 26]. Available from: https://www.niid.go.jp/niid//images/epi/yosoku/Seroprevalence/r2016serum-e.pdf.

National Institute of Infectious Diseases. Rotavirus, 2010-2013. IASR monthly report. 2014;35(3): 63-64.

The Research Institute of Tuberculosis JATA. Annual reports 2015 summary/foreigner. [Internet] 2016 Sep 1 [cited 2017 Sep 12.] Available from: http://www.jata.or.jp/rit/ekigaku/en/annual-reports/.

Teutsch, SM. Considerations in planning a surveillance system. In: Lee LM, Teutsch SM, Thacker SB, St. Louis ME, editors. Principles & practice of public health surveillance. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2010. p. 22.

Downloads

Published

04-07-2018

How to Cite

Griffith, M. M., Fukusumi, M., Kobayashi, Y., Matsui, Y., Nishiki, S., Shimbashi, R., Morino, S., Sunagawa, T., Taya, K., Matsui, T., & Oishi, K. (2018). Epidemiology of vaccine-preventable diseases in Japan: considerations for pre-travel advice for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Western Pacific Surveillance and Response, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.5365/wpsar.2017.8.4.002

Issue

No. 2 (2018): April – June

Section

Original Research

License

© World Health Organization (WHO) 2022. Some rights reserved.

WHO Permissions and licensing

The articles in this publication are published by the World Health Organization and contain contributions by individual authors. The articles are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/legalcode), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In any use of these articles, there should be no suggestion that WHO endorses any specific organization, products or services. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted.

Attribution

The World Health Organization does not necessarily own each component of the content contained within these articles and does not therefore warrant that the use of any third-party-owned individual component or part contained in the articles will not infringe on the rights of those third parties. The risk of claims resulting from such infringement rests solely with you. If you wish to re-use a component of the articles attributed to a third party, it is your responsibility to determine whether permission is needed for that re-use and to obtain permission from the copyright owner. Examples of components can include, but are not limited to, tables, figures or images.

Any mediation relating to disputes arising under this license shall be conducted in accordance with the WIPO Mediation Rules (www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/rules). Any inquiries should be addressed to publications@wpro.who.int.

License to publish

Western Pacific Surveillance and Response is an open access journal and requires each author of a contribution to grant the World Health Organization (the Publisher) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution IGO License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/legalcode) for the term of copyright and any extensions thereof. This includes to publish, re-publish, transmit, sell, distribute and otherwise use the article in the Journal, in whole or as a part. This is done by signing the WPSAR License to publish form.

Disclaimer

The designations employed and the presentation of the information on this website do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters.

Links to third-party websites

The World Health Organization does not warrant that the information contained on the website is complete and correct and shall not be liable whatsoever for any damages incurred as a result of its use.