Arizono Naoki, Nakanihsi Kenji, Horii Toshihiro, Tanabe Kazuyuki
Department of Medical Zoology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan.
Trends Parasitol. 2007 Apr;23(4):175-81. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2007.02.005. Epub 2007 Feb 22.
Japan is one of a small number of countries to have successfully controlled or eliminated major parasitic diseases, including malaria, filariasis, schistosomiasis and enteric parasitoses. Of particular importance in this success was a close collaboration between primary research and public health efforts. Many Japanese researchers continue to study malaria, particularly the areas of genetics and immunology, and this should contribute to global parasite eradication strategies. Furthermore, studies of immunoregulation of nematode infection using the interleukin-18 pathway, most of which have been conducted in Japan, are helping to improve researchers' understanding of human immune mechanisms and host-parasite interactions.
