NISHIBUCHI, Mitsuaki
- Professor
- Division of Integrated Area Studies
- B. Agr. in Fisheries, Hiroshima University, 1976
Ph. D. in Microbiology, Oregon State University, 1983
Current Research Interests
- Elucidation of interrelationships between the natural environment and human
activities (cultural, social, economic, etc.) specific to Asia through
analysis of enteric infections
- Prevention of cholera among children in Asia by utilizing symbiotic bacteria
Most bacteria responsible for enteric infections inhabit natural environments,
but they are sparsely distributed. However, the eutrophication of environments
due to increases in human population, human activities, and climate change
stimulates bacterial propagation. The propagated bacteria can cause infection
through consumption of water and food. Culture - including hygienic concepts,
eating habits, ritual ceremonies, and other factors - can influence the
frequency of contact between the bacteria and humans. Humans differ in
their resistance to infection by the pathogenic bacteria due to differences
in their immunity induced by past infections. Once infected, humans become
“culture bottles of the pathogen” and bacteria propagated there are released
into the environments. Political and economic activities such as the movement
of labor harboring pathogens and the import/export of food contaminated
with pathogens mediate the spread of infections. As such, we can look at
the human-nature interaction through an analysis of the epidemiology of
infectious diseases. Molecular epidemiological tools such as DNA fingerprinting
can be a very powerful tool in the analysis, helping to prove in a objective
manner the subjective hypothesis put forward in field study. The puzzles
I have been collaborating with scientists in Asia to solve are infections
caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibriocholerae, and Escherichia coli O157.
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