Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T04:22:23.845Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Preparedness for a Smallpox Pandemic in Japan: Public Health Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2015

Yasumasa Nishiyama ,
Susumu Matsukuma ,
Takuya Matsumura ,
Yasuhiro Kanatani  and
Tomoya Saito
Yasumasa Nishiyama*
Affiliation:
Health Service Section, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Central Hospital, Ikejiri, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
Susumu Matsukuma
Affiliation:
Health Service Section, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Central Hospital, Ikejiri, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
Takuya Matsumura
Affiliation:
Health Service Section, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Central Hospital, Ikejiri, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
Yasuhiro Kanatani
Affiliation:
The Department of Health Crisis Management, National Institute of Public Health, Wako, Saitama, Japan
Tomoya Saito
Affiliation:
The Department of Health Crisis Management, National Institute of Public Health, Wako, Saitama, Japan
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Yasumasa Nishiyama, MD, PhD, Health Care Center, Japan Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital, 1-2-24, Ikejiri, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan (e-mail: [email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Smallpox is an acute, febrile, contagious disease caused by the Variola virus, which is a member of the Poxviridae family. Until the 1970s, smallpox had been a pandemic disease for more than 3000 years, endemic in tropical and developing areas and periodically epidemic worldwide. The World Health Organization declared smallpox to be completely eradicated in 1980 as the result of global vaccination efforts. At that time, all routine vaccination programs were terminated, given the success of this monumental eradication. Although smallpox remains fully eradicated, uncertainty exists regarding the possibility of recurrent smallpox outbreaks. At the end of the Cold War, concerns regarding unstable international security and the feasibility of terrorism with weapons of mass destruction have been highlighted. The potential threat of intentional release of smallpox has forced regional health authorities to reconsider their political landscape and create preparedness plans to protect the community in the event of biological attacks. Here we present current countermeasures to this biological threat in Japan and discuss methods for strengthening public health preparedness both domestically and internationally. These methods include infection control, vaccination policy, and international partnerships to help deter or contain a contagious smallpox pandemic. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:220-223)

Keywords

smallpoxbioterrorismpublic healthpandemicsbiological warfare agents
Type
Perspective
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , April 2015 , pp. 220 - 223
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Christopher, GW, Cieslak, TJ, Pavlin, JA, et al. Biological warfare. A historical perspective. JAMA. 1997;278:412-417.Google Scholar
2. Sugishima, M. Aum Shinrikyo and the Japanese law on bioterrorism. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2003;18:179-183.Google Scholar
3. Broad, WJ. How Japan germ terror alerted world. New York Times. Published May 26, 1998. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/26/world/sowing-death-a-special-report-how-japan-germ-terror-alerted-world.html?pagewanted=print. Accessed September 20, 2014.Google Scholar
4. Wehrle, PF, Posch, J, Richter, KH, et al. An airborne outbreak of smallpox in German hospital and its significance with respect to other recent outbreaks in Europe. Bull World Health Organ. 1970;43:669-679.Google Scholar
5. World Health Organization. Declaration of global eradication of smallpox. Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 1980;55:145-152.Google Scholar
6. Henderson, DA, Arita, I. The smallpox threat: a time to reconsider global policy. Biosecur Bioterror. 2014;12:1-5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7. O’Toole, T, Mair, M, Inglesby, TV. Shining light on “Dark Winter.” Clin Infect Dis. 2002;34:972-983.Google Scholar
8. Zenihana, T, Ishikawa, H. Effectiveness assessment of countermeasures against bioterrorist smallpox attacks in Japan using an individual based model. Environ Health Prev Med. 2010;15:84-93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Okabe, N. Amendment to the infectious disease control law [in Japanese]. Uirus. 2004;54:249-254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. Ohkusa, Y, Yamaguchi, R, Sugihara, H, et al, 2008, G8 Hokkaido Tokyo Summit Meeting syndrome surveillance [in Japanese]. Kansenshogaku Zasshi. 2009;83:236-244.Google Scholar
11. Tanihata, T, Okumura, T, Mizushima, H, et al. Establishment and utilization of information infrastructure preparing for public health emergencies [in Japanese]. J. Natl Inst Public Health. 2012;61:344-347.Google Scholar
12. Hashizume, S. Development of the attenuated smallpox vaccine, LC16m8, produced by cell culture [in Japanese]. Modern Media. 2004;50:4-9.Google Scholar
13. Saijo, H, Ami, Y, Suzaki, Y, et al. LC16m8, a highly attenuated vaccinia virus vaccine lacking expression of the membrane protein B5R, protects monkeys from monkeypox. J Virol. 2006;80:5179-5188.Google Scholar
14. Saito, T, Fujii, T, Kanatani, Y, et al. Clinical and immunological response to attenuated tissue-cultured smallpox vaccine LC16m8. JAMA. 2009;301:1025-1033.Google Scholar
15. Graham, B, Talent, J. The threat of bioterrorism. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2011;5:170-171.Google Scholar
16. Burkle, FM Jr, Hsu, EB, Loehr, M, et al. Definition and functions of health unified command and emergency operations centers for large scale bioevent disasters within the existing ICS. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2007;1:135-141.Google Scholar
17. GHSI Ministerial Statements Rome, Italy, 13 December, 2013. http://www.ghsi.ca/english/statementitaly2013.asp. Accessed September 20, 2014.Google Scholar