CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF IMPORTED MALARIA IN JAPAN: ANALYSIS AT A REFERRAL HOSPITAL

TOSHIYUKI MIURA Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Drug Informatics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

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MIKIO KIMURA Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Drug Informatics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

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TOMOHIKO KOIBUCHI Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Drug Informatics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

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TOKIOMI ENDO Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Drug Informatics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

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HITOMI NAKAMURA Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Drug Informatics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

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TAKASHI ODAWARA Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Drug Informatics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

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YUSUKE WATAYA Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Drug Informatics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

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TETSUYA NAKAMURA Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Drug Informatics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

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AIKICHI IWAMOTO Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Drug Informatics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2005.73.599
Volume/Issue:
Volume 73: Issue 3
Page(s):
599–603
Restricted access
Get Permissions

Imported malaria remains an important problem in Japan. We have reviewed the medical records of 170 cases of malaria in our hospital, which corresponds to 14.9% of the total cases in Japan. The predominant malarial species was Plasmodium falciparum (52.3%), and the most frequent area of acquisition was Africa (54.2%), followed by Asia (20.9%) and Oceania (19.6%). The most common reason for travel among Japanese patients was business. A significant proportion (22.2%) of vivax malaria cases experienced relapse despite standard primaquine therapy. Most primaquine failures were from Oceania. We also found that a substantial number of Japanese patients contracted malaria without chemoprophylaxis and consulted medical facilities with an unfavorably long delay from initial symptoms (median: 3.0 days). Direct education of travelers and travel companies, in addition to health care providers, is likely necessary to improve outcomes of imported malaria.

Author Notes

Reprint requests: Tetsuya Nakamura, Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8639, Japan, Telephone: +81-3-5449-5338, Fax: +81-3-5449-5427, E-mail: tnakamur@ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
Copyright:
Copyright 2005 The American Society of Tropical Medicine 2005
Received:
18 Aug 2004
|
Accepted:
20 Mar 2005
|
Published Online:
Sep 2005
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
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