1887
  1. Home
  2. Eurosurveillance
  3. Volume 29, Issue 46, 14/Nov/2024
  4. Article
Surveillance Open Access
Like 0
Download

Abstract

Background

The National Surveillance for Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD) initiative started in Japan in April 2013. Multiple international mass gathering events have since been held in Japan, and the COVID-19 pandemic has occurred.

Aim

We summarised 10 years of national surveillance data for IMD in Japan to describe epidemiological characteristics of IMD and evaluate the influence of mass gatherings and the COVID-19 pandemic on IMD.

Methods

Upon diagnosis of IMD, patient information and specimens were collected and reported to local health centres. We analysed the epidemiology of IMD cases reported between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2023.

Results

Among 274 cases reported (median age: 55 years; 55% male), no outbreaks related to mass gathering events were identified. The annual reported incidence of IMD was 0.001–0.039 cases per 100,000 individuals between 2014 and 2022, with a notable decrease after 2020. The overall case fatality rate was 12% (33/274). The most frequent serogroups were Y and B (46 and 17%). Multilocus sequence typing revealed a predominance of clonal complex (cc) 23, followed by cc2057, while cc11 was detected in eight cases.

Conclusion

The reported incidence of IMD in Japan is low compared with high-endemic countries and decreased further during the COVID-19 pandemic. This unique epidemiology of IMD in Japan lacks a clear explanation. However, distribution of meningococcal strains, such as predominance of serogroup Y, could be a contributing factor. Maintaining high-quality surveillance, including of serogroups and sequence types, is crucial to manage and prevent future IMD cases in Japan effectively.

© Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.46.2400136
2024-11-14
2024-12-12
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.46.2400136
Loading
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/eurosurveillance/29/46/eurosurv-29-46-2.html?itemId=/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.46.2400136&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Rouphael NG, Stephens DS. Neisseria meningitidis: biology, microbiology, and epidemiology. Methods Mol Biol. 2012;799:1-20.  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-346-2_1  PMID: 21993636 
  2. Acevedo R, Bai X, Borrow R, Caugant DA, Carlos J, Ceyhan M, et al. The global meningococcal Initiative meeting on prevention of meningococcal disease worldwide: epidemiology, surveillance, hypervirulent strains, antibiotic resistance and high-risk populations. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2019;18(1):15-30.  https://doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2019.1557520  PMID: 30526162 
  3. Thompson MJ, Ninis N, Perera R, Mayon-White R, Phillips C, Bailey L, et al. Clinical recognition of meningococcal disease in children and adolescents. Lancet. 2006;367(9508):397-403.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)67932-4  PMID: 16458763 
  4. 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.  https://doi.org/10.5365/wpsar.2016.7.3.007  PMID: 28729922 
  5. Soeters HM, McNamara LA, Blain AE, Whaley M, MacNeil JR, Hariri S, et al. University-based outbreaks of meningococcal disease caused by serogroup B, United States, 2013-2018. Emerg Infect Dis. 2019;25(3):434-40.  https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2503.181574  PMID: 30789140 
  6. Harrison OB, Claus H, Jiang Y, Bennett JS, Bratcher HB, Jolley KA, et al. Description and nomenclature of Neisseria meningitidis capsule locus. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013;19(4):566-73.  https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1904.111799  PMID: 23628376 
  7. Kamiya H, Kamidani S, Saitoh A. An introduction to the Japanese immunization program: past, present, and future perspectives. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2023;42(5):e154-7.  https://doi.org/10.1097/INF.0000000000003854  PMID: 36795581 
  8. Maiden MCJ, Bygraves JA, Feil E, Morelli G, Russell JE, Urwin R, et al. Multilocus sequence typing: a portable approach to the identification of clones within populations of pathogenic microorganisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1998;95(6):3140-5.  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.95.6.3140  PMID: 9501229 
  9. Waśko I, Hryniewicz W, Skoczyńska A. Significance of meningococcal hyperinvasive clonal complexes and their influence on vaccines development. Pol J Microbiol. 2015;64(4):313-21.  https://doi.org/10.5604/17331331.1185912  PMID: 26999951 
  10. National Institute of Infectious Diseases. Invasive meningococcal infection, April 2013 - October 2017, Japan. IASR. 2018;39(1):1-2. Available from: https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/en/iasr-vol39-e/865-iasr/7802-455te.html
  11. 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.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.06.018  PMID: 27291085 
  12. Kitahara K, Nishikawa Y, Yokoyama H, Kikuchi Y, Sakoi M. An overview of the reclassification of COVID-19 of the Infectious Diseases Control Law in Japan. Glob Health Med. 2023;5(2):70-4.  https://doi.org/10.35772/ghm.2023.01023  PMID: 37128229 
  13. Statistics Bureau of Japan. Result of the population Estimates. Tokyo: Statistics Bureau. [Accessed: 28 Feb 2024]. Available from: https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/jinsui/2.html
  14. Taha MK. Simultaneous approach for nonculture PCR-based identification and serogroup prediction of Neisseria meningitidis. J Clin Microbiol. 2000;38(2):855-7.  https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.38.2.855-857.2000  PMID: 10655397 
  15. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Case of invasive meningococcal disease confirmed. Tokyo: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; 2019. Japanese. Available from: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000567500.pdf
  16. McMillan M, Mohammed H, Bednarz J, Leong LEX, Lawrence A, Sullivan TR, et al. Longitudinal study of meningococcal carriage in adolescents and young adults in South Australia 2017-2020. J Infect. 2024;88(2):149-57.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2024.01.002  PMID: 38242365 
  17. The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Quick reference guide for infectious diseases. [Accessed: 28 Feb 2024]. Japanese. Available from: https://www.kansensho.or.jp/ref
  18. Saito T. Global mass gathering during pandemic: interim overview of COVID-19 countermeasures during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Tokyo: National Institute of Infectious Diseases; 2022. Available from: https://mhlw-grants.niph.go.jp/system/files/report_pdf/202127006A-sonota4.pdf
  19. National Institute of Infectious Diseases. Annual surveillance data (notifiable diseases, category V). Tokyo: National Institute of Infectious Diseases. [Accessed: 21 May 2024]. Japanese. Available from: https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/ja/ydata/11530-report-ja2021-30.html
  20. Martinón-Torres F. Deciphering the burden of meningococcal disease: conventional and under-recognized elements. J Adolesc Health. 2016;59(2) Suppl;S12-20.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.03.041  PMID: 27449145 
  21. Cummiskey J, Borrione P, Bachil N, Ergen E, Pigozzi F. Report of a serious reportable communicable disease at a major sporting event. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2008;48(2):125-8. PMID: 18427404 
  22. Kasamatsu A, Ota M, Shimada T, Fukusumi M, Yamagishi T, Samuel A, et al. Enhanced event-based surveillance for imported diseases during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Western Pac Surveill Response J. 2021;12(4):1-7.  https://doi.org/10.5365/wpsar.2021.12.4.903  PMID: 35251745 
  23. Olea A, Matute I, González C, Delgado I, Poffald L, Pedroni E, et al. Case−control study of risk factors for meningococcal disease in Chile. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017;23(7):1070-8.  https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2307.160129  PMID: 28628448 
  24. MacLennan J, Kafatos G, Neal K, Andrews N, Cameron JC, Roberts R, et al. Social behavior and meningococcal carriage in British teenagers. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12(6):950-7.  https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1206.051297  PMID: 16707051 
  25. Lewis LA, Ram S. Meningococcal disease and the complement system. Virulence. 2014;5(1):98-126.  https://doi.org/10.4161/viru.26515  PMID: 24104403 
  26. United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Research and analysis Meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY) vaccine coverage for adolescents in England, academic year 2021 to 2022. London: UKHSA; 2024. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/meningococcal-acwy-immunisation-programme-vaccine-coverage-estimates/meningococcal-acwy-menacwy-vaccine-coverage-for-adolescents-in-england-academic-year-2021-to-2022
  27. Tzeng YL, Stephens DS. A narrative review of the W, X, Y, E, and NG of meningococcal disease: emerging capsular groups, pathotypes, and global control. Microorganisms. 2021;9(3):519.  https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9030519  PMID: 33802567 
  28. Takahashi H, Morita M, Kamiya H, Nakamura-Miwa H, Shimuta K, Ohnishi M. Genetic characterization of clonal complex sequence type 2057 (cc2057) serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis strains unique to Japan and identification of a capsular-switched serogroup Y isolate cc2057. J Med Microbiol. 2022;71(3):001504.  https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001504  PMID: 35238737 
  29. Mustapha MM, Marsh JW, Krauland MG, Fernandez JO, de Lemos APS, Dunning Hotopp JC, et al. Genomic epidemiology of hypervirulent serogroup W, ST-11 Neisseria meningitidis. EBioMedicine. 2015;2(10):1447-55.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2015.09.007  PMID: 26629539 
  30. Alderson MR, Arkwright PD, Bai X, Black S, Borrow R, Caugant DA, et al. Surveillance and control of meningococcal disease in the COVID-19 era: A Global Meningococcal Initiative review. J Infect. 2022;84(3):289-96.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2021.11.016  PMID: 34838594 
  31. Brueggemann AB, Jansen van Rensburg MJ, Shaw D, McCarthy ND, Jolley KA, Maiden MCJ, et al. Changes in the incidence of invasive disease due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis during the COVID-19 pandemic in 26 countries and territories in the Invasive Respiratory Infection Surveillance Initiative: a prospective analysis of surveillance data. Lancet Digit Health. 2021;3(6):e360-70.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(21)00077-7  PMID: 34045002 
  32. Clark SA, Campbell H, Ribeiro S, Bertran M, Walsh L, Walker A, et al. Epidemiological and strain characteristics of invasive meningococcal disease prior to, during and after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in England. J Infect. 2023;87(5):385-91.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2023.09.002  PMID: 37689395 
Epidemiology of invasive meningococcal disease, Japan, 2013 to 2023
<p class="citation"> <span>Citation style for this article:</span> <span class="meta-value authors"> <a href="/search?value1=Miho+Kobayashi&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Kobayashi Miho</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Hajime+Kamiya&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Kamiya Hajime</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Munehisa+Fukusumi&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Fukusumi Munehisa</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Hideyuki+Takahashi&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Takahashi Hideyuki</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Yukihiro+Akeda&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Akeda Yukihiro</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Motoi+Suzuki&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Suzuki Motoi</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Tomimasa+Sunagawa&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Sunagawa Tomimasa</a></span>. Epidemiology of invasive meningococcal disease, Japan, 2013 to 2023. <a href="/content/ecdc">Euro Surveill.</a> 2024;29(46):pii=2400136. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.46.2400136" title="doi link" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.46.2400136</a> <span class="ES_Article_citation"> <span class="generated">Received</span>: 28 Feb 2024;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="generated">Accepted</span>: 29 May 2024 </span> </p>
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.46.2400136
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.46.2400136
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Submit comment
Close
Comment moderation successfully completed
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error