Since the end of 2024, there has been an outbreak of pertussis in Japan. Pertussis is an acute respiratory infection caused by Bordetella pertussis. It tends to become severe in infants and young children and is a serious disease that can be life-threatening. Within this context, there have been increasing reports of outbreaks involving “drug-resistant pertussis,” which shows resistance to macrolide antibiotics, and both the Japan Pediatric Society and the Japan Institute for Health Security. have issued warnings.

When a drug is no longer effective against a particular microorganism, the phenomenon is referred to as antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The cases of drug-resistant pertussis highlight not only the challenges by the disease itself but also demonstrates that AMR is having a serious impact on pediatric healthcare. When pathogenic microorganisms, including Bordetella pertussis, acquire drug resistance, conventional treatments become ineffective, increasing the risk of prolonged treatment and severe conditions even for common infections. This leads not only a risk to individual health but also places burden on the entire healthcare system and social losses.

Fight against drug-resistant pertussis and other antimicrobial-resistant infections require a multifaceted approach. In addition to basic infection control measures such as ventilation, hand washing, vaccination, development of rapid diagnostic methods for resistance evaluation, ensuring implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship, and promoting the prudent use of antimicrobials based on a solid understanding of AMR. However, effective fight against AMR requires not only these efforts by healthcare professionals and citizens but also solutions to structural issues in pediatric healthcare and medical systems. For example, the development of pediatric medicines (vaccines and therapeutic drugs) is not as active as that for adult medicines. Additionally, there are many pediatric-specific challenges, such as the shortage of pediatric infectious disease specialists and delays in developing pediatric healthcare delivery systems.

Against this backdrop, Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) and AMR Alliance Japan will be holding this online seminar to reexamine the issue of antimicrobial resistance from a pediatric healthcare perspective and share this understanding more widely with society. For this event, we will welcome Dr. Kazunobu Ouchi, who has been involved with AMR Alliance Japan for many years as the Japanese Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases, and Ms. Kyoko Ama, who has been leading advocacy activities from the perspective of civil society in the fields of pediatric and emergency medicine. They will discuss the challenges of pediatric healthcare and the fight against AMR, including drug-resistant pertussis. By using this specific topic of the outbreak of “drug-resistant pertussis” as a starting point, we hope to foster deeper understanding of how antimicrobial resistance affects children’s health and the future of healthcare and society.

[Event Overview]

• Speakers (titles omitted):
  Kazunobu Ouchi (Professor Emeritus, Kawasaki Medical School / Specially Appointed Professor, Department of Nursing Child Care, Faculty of Health and Welfare, Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare / Specially Appointed Director, Kawasaki Medical School General Medical Center and Kawasaki Medical School Hospital)
  Kyoko Ama (Fellow, HGPI)
• Date & Time: Thursday, May 15, 2025; 18:30-19:45 JST
  
• Format: Online (Zoom webinar)
• Language: Japanese
• Participation Fee: Free
• Host: Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI), AMR Alliance Japan
• Capacity: 500 participants

---

■Profile:

Dr. Kazunobu Ouchi (Professor Emeritus, Kawasaki Medical School / Specially Appointed Professor, Department of Nursing Child Care, Faculty of Health and Welfare, Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare / Specially Appointed Director, Kawasaki Medical School General Medical Center and Kawasaki Medical School Hospital)
After graduating from Yamaguchi University School of Medicine in 1980, Dr. Kazunobu Ouchi began his career as a resident in Pediatrics at Okayama Medical Center. From 1986 to 1988, he worked as a Research Fellow in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at University of Oklahoma. Upon returning to Japan, he served as a Physician at the Pediatrics Department of National Kure Hospital Perinatal Medical Center in 1988 and then as Head of Pediatrics Department at Saiseikai Shimonoseki General Hospital in 1989. In 2002, he became a Professor of Pediatrics at Kawasaki Medical School and was appointed as Chief Professor of Pediatrics in 2006. He was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus at Kawasaki Medical School in 2021. Currently, he serves as a Specially Appointed Professor at the Department of Nursing Child Care, Faculty of Health and Welfare at Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare, and as a Specially Appointed Director at Kawasaki Medical School General Medical Center and Kawasaki Medical School Hospital. In his academic society activities, he served as Chairperson of Guideline Development Committee and President of both the Japanese Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases and the Japanese Society of Travel and Health.

Ms. Kyoko Ama (Fellow, Health and Global Policy Institute)
Ms. Kyoko Ama was born in Tokyo in 1974. In April 2007, Ms. Ama established an association with the goal of improving the state of care for infants and young children by disseminating information on child and infant care to parents and guardians. The association became a general incorporated association called “Shiro Shoni Iryo Mamoro Kodomo-tachi” in July 2012. The association was dissolved on April 30, 2020. Ms. Ama also teaches childcare and childrearing as a part-time lecturer in a non-degree graduate program on early childhood education at Tokyo Rissho Junior College. She is the mother of three children. She has served on many committees in the past, in positions including Member, Roundtable on Promoting the Effective Use of Healthcare, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW); Member, Study Group on Structuring Emergency and Disaster Healthcare Provision Systems, MHLW; Member, Study Group on Structuring Emergency Services, Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC); Member, Study Group on Emergency Services, Tokyo Fire Department; Member, Council on Pediatric Care, Tokyo Metropolitan Government; and Member, Council for Promoting Public Awareness for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Countermeasures, Cabinet Secretariat. She currently serves as a member of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Liaison and Coordination Committee for Revision of the Model Core Curriculum for Nursing Education and as the leader of the “Children and Healthcare” initiative.