Kansai News » influenza

Swine Flu Rises to 315

Kyle Yates — Sat, 23 May 2009 09:06:41 +0000

The majority of swine flu cases are in the Kobe-Osaka area of Japan and are increasing at a slow pace thanks to the efforts of health officials and people living in the area who are using precautions to keep the virus from spreading.

Currently, 315 people are infected throughout Japan.

186 Cases By the End of the Day

Kyle Yates — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:33:48 +0000

No huge jump in the number of people infected with the swine flu virus today. But officials estimate that those already infected with the virus have most likely come in contact with over 2900 others. So officials are anxiously awaiting more reports and trying to prepare in the meantime.

Local health officials say that the virus symptoms are mild, but that they are preparing for worse situations to try and stay on top of the virus.

Businesses and companies are doing their part to help stop the spread of the virus by checking employees in the morning for fevers and other symptoms, and asking them to stagger their lunch schedules to try and safeguard from infection.

Smaller hospitals and clinics are finding it difficult to separate those infected with the virus from those who are not due to the lack of available space. Doctors are ordering medicine and other supplies to prepare and asking patients with light symptoms to stay at home and recuperate rather stay in the hospital or clinic.

173 Swine Flu Patients in Osaka and Kobe

Kyle Yates — Tue, 19 May 2009 05:01:52 +0000

The latest number of people in the Osaka-Kobe area infected with swine flu currently stands at 173, a slightly lower number expected to be reported today thanks to the closing of schools in infected areas.

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Those who were reported infected with the virus today are mostly students and classmates of those who attended the volleyball matches last week, while a few separate cases have been reported in Yao city.

Masks are currently hard to find in a majority of stores in Osaka and Kobe. If you cannot find a mask and live in an effected area, you may want to shop outside the effected area or shop for some online.

If you are traveling to the Osaka-Kobe area, bring a mask with you to help prevent becoming infected with the virus and spreading it to others. The World Health Organization has issued warnings that we may be experiencing the “calm before the storm” where the virus is spreading without reported infections and being passed from one person to another.

130 Sick with Swine Flu in Osaka and Kobe

Kyle Yates — Mon, 18 May 2009 06:01:42 +0000

The number of infected with swine flu has now risen to 130 in the Osaka and Kobe areas since this morning and is expected to continue rising as more students who were exposed during last week’s volleyball matches surface.

If you attended a sporting event with any team from the Osaka or Kobe areas last week, you may want to contact local health authorities to see if others from the event you attended are reporting sick.

Reporting on the Swine Flu in the Kansai Area

Kyle Yates — Mon, 18 May 2009 02:36:22 +0000

While there are many news outlets in Japan and the Kansai area, very few report about the swine flu virus in English. Most news channels are carrying information about the virus currently spreading in the region, yet they fail to report much about it in English except during translated news reports on BBS.

From today, we will post information on the virus daily several times a day throughout the day where you can read and stay informed in English.

All reports on the swine flu virus will be posted to the Kansai Health category, which is visible on the front page of Kansai News.

If you find any information we have not reported on, please register and post your information. We will verify your report first before allowing it to go live to ensure quality and validity.

Swine Flu Virus Infected Stands at 104

Kyle Yates — Mon, 18 May 2009 02:23:37 +0000

The report last night was that 52 people had come down with swine flu since the first reports of anyone having swine flu hit the Kansai region. However, this morning the latest report is that number has doubled. The current number of people infected with the swine flu virus stands at 104 people.

Most of the infected are high school students from the Kobe-Osaka area.

Swine Flu Hits Kobe and Osaka

Kyle Yates — Mon, 18 May 2009 00:13:35 +0000

The World Health Organization has confirmed that in the past few days the swine flu has gone from a handful of people to 52 cases with the majority being high school students who most likely contracted the virus from others while watching and participating in volleyball matches.

School faculty became suspicious after noticing higher than usual numbers of students absent from school with flu-like symptoms and notified public health authorities prior to the weekend.

For now, schools in Kobe are closed effecting over 32,000 students. Schools in Osaka overall remain open, but officials are monitoring the virus and infected schools in the Osaka area to ensure safety.

If you suspect you are carrying the virus, do not go to a hospital or clinic. Instead, contact the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Tokyo. They are open from 9am to 9pm and their phone number is 03-3501-9031.