Sudden jump of swine flu cases in Japan

Over the weekend, a swine flu outbreak in Japan has intensified, making the island-nation the most affected country in the world outside of North America. The World Health Organization has not raised the level of the world’s swine flu alert, as of yet.

Four people thought to have caught the H1N1 virus outside of Japan made up the total confirmed cases as of Friday, according to the Associated Press. But by Saturday, a case of local transmission of the virus was confirmed in Kobe. Then newly reported cases were confirmed in the Kobe and Osaka areas as well as four at the Tokyo airport. The total number of locally transmitted cases is now 135.

This recent outbreak makes Japan “the fourth-most infected country in the world, after Mexico, the United States and Canada,” according to an NTV report cited by the Associated Press.

Worldwide, 40 countries have officially reported 8,829 cases of H1N1 infection and the flu has caused 74 deaths,  according to the WHO. The sixth U.S. death was reported on Sunday.

In Japan, officials have responded to the recent outbreak by shutting schools in Hyogo and Osaka prefectures.

Many of the infected in Japan are teenagers, though other cases include college students and their families, teachers and staff at a railway office, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Unsurprisingly, shares in mask manufacturers in Japan rose over the weekend.

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Pedestrians in a shopping district in Kobe, Japan, on Sunday, May 17. Credit: Associated Press / Kyodo News]

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 at 11:06 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Asia, Business Travel, Global, Healthy Traveler, Japan, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.