Japan sees death caused by corynebacterium ulcerans for 1st time

January 15, 2018

Tokyo- A woman in her 60s in Fukuoka Prefecture died in 2016 after being infected with Corynebacterium ulcerans, becoming the first victim of the zoonotic disease in Japan, health ministry officials said Monday.

According to the officials, the woman, who had fed three cats outdoors, was rushed to hospital by an ambulance for having trouble breathing in May 2016 and died on the third day. The bacteria were detected in her blood and body fluid.

Initial symptoms of the infectious disease are similar to those of a cold, such as sneezing. Animals also display skin diseases. The ministry has confirmed 25 cases of human infections with C. ulcerans across the country since 2001, including the fatal one. In most of the cases, the bacteria were transmitted from dogs and cats. But domestic animals may be sources of infection, the officials said.

No human-to-human infections have been confirmed in the country, they added.

The ministry calls on people to thoroughly wash their hands after touching animals showing cold-like symptoms or having skin diseases.

If symptoms appear, antivirals should be administered before they become serious, an official in charge of infectious diseases said. Jiji Press