Number of flu patients tops warning level

January 26, 2018

Tokyo- The number of influenza patients in Japan has topped the warning level, the health ministry said Friday.

The average number of flu patients at some 5,000 medical institutions across the country that are regularly surveyed stood at 51.93 in the week through Sunday, far higher than the warning level of 30, the ministry said.

The figure, nearly double the level in the preceding week, was the highest since such statistics began in April 1999.

The total number of flu patients in the country in the week is estimated at 2.83 million, up by some one million from the prior week, the ministry said. The number is "close to peaking," a ministry official said.

The official called on people to gargle and wash their hands upon returning from an outing and seek see doctors promptly if they feel unwell.

The average number of patients at regularly surveyed medical institutions exceeded the alert level in 44 of the nation's 47 prefectures, excluding Hokkaido, Akita and Ishikawa. The figure was the highest in Kagoshima, at 86.53, followed by Miyazaki, at 84.97, Fukuoka, at 83.99, Oita, at 82.40, and Saga, at 69.64.

Of the total estimated patients, people aged 5-9 accounted for 590,000, those aged 10-19 for 400,000, those in their 40s for 290,000, those aged up to 4 for 270,000 and those in their 50s for 240,000.

The total number of patients since the start of the current influenza season in September last year is estimated to have reached 8.37 million, according to the ministry. Jiji Press