Japanese version is here. Mizutani, Tetsuya Newly emerging zoonoses such as Ebola are now causing biological hazards to humans. The first case of Russian spring summer encephalitis in Japan was reported in 1993 in Hokkaido. Extensive studies are now being carried out to identify the vector tick and reservoir rodents. Indigenous rodents in Hokkaido were found to carry the causative virus of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and the human incidence of the infection is now being investigated.
Japanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne viral zoonosis in East Asian countries.
The mechanism for the virus to overwinter is being investigated. To prevent viral zoonoses, we are aiming to elucidate the natural history of the causative viruses in nature.