[Biography of the Day] from [Britannica]
Catherine II
Catherine the Great, who engineered the abdication of her husband, Peter III, to become empress of Russia (1762–96) and one of the most powerful women in history, was born in Prussia this day in 1729.
[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1939: Lou Gehrig's 2,130-game streak ended
On this day in 1939, New York Yankee great Lou Gehrig, the “Iron Horse” of American baseball, ended his streak of consecutive games played (2,130), setting a record that stood until 1995, when it was broken by Cal Ripken, Jr.
[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Baby at Yokota base latest flu scare focus
Yokohama boy now not linked to new strain
(Compiled from Kyodo, Staff reports) A baby who arrived Friday at the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo from the United States has tested positive for type-A influenza in a preliminary exam and may be the first case here of the new H1N1 strain, the Foreign Ministry said on the heels of reports that two Japanese earlier suspected of having caught the virus were in fact suffering other forms of flu.
A Yokohama high school boy who recently visited Canada had earlier been suspected of carrying the new strain, but a followup test turned out negative, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Friday.
Health minister Yoichi Masuzoe, breathing a sigh of relief, said the youth had the Soviet A-type influenza, not the swine-avian-human flu that first surfaced in Mexico and is causing pandemic fears.
Thursday night it was reported a 25-year-old woman returning to Japan aboard a Northwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles had tested positive for the influenza-A virus, possibly being Japan's first H1N1 case, but she was later diagnosed with type-A Hong Kong flu.
The 4-month-old baby who arrived at the Yokota base and the infant's mother have been isolated at a medical facility on base, while 13 other passengers seated near the baby on the airplane will be isolated until they are confirmed as not being infected with the H1N1 strain, the Foreign Ministry said, based on information provided by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
Details, including the gender of the baby, are not known.
The U.S. side is conducting further tests on the baby and will provide the results to Japanese authorities as soon as they are known.
The 17-year-old youth tested positive in a preliminary A-type flu test Thursday during a medical checkup after returning with classmates from a trip to British Columbia on April 25. His symptoms included a fever, coughing and phlegm, Masuzoe said.
The National Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, which examined the Yokohama sample, said it took time confirming whether the student had the H1N1 subtype, because the amount of virus in the sample was too small.
"There is no need to panic. I ask people to take measures against ordinary influenza, such as wearing masks and washing hands," Masuzoe said.
The Yokohama student had a fever of 39, but that dropped to 37 on Friday and he is recovering, city officials said.
None of his family or schoolmates has flu symptoms, but the city is questioning teachers and students about where they went and with whom they came into contact, the official said.
The boy tested positive on a polymerase chain reaction test that detects the DNA of the virus, but the results were not conclusive enough to declare he was infected with the new flu, the health ministry said.
A school official said 115 students and five teachers went on the excursion and came back to the school on three buses from Narita airport.
On Thursday, the World Health Organization said it will no longer use the term "swine flu" to refer to the new strain of A virus rapidly spreading across the world, citing protests from pork and other farm industries. The WHO will instead use the term "influenza A (H1N1)," a representative said.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Q&A
Tips to prepare for influenza outbreak
By MARIKO KATO and MINORU MATSUTANI
Staff writers
Concern about the new flu, called a type H1N1, is spreading in Japan as global alert levels have been raised regarding a possible pandemic.
Although no cases of infection has been confirmed in Japan, foreign residents in particular may be keen to know where to go for advice if they think they have the new bug.
Here are some basic questions and answers about the situation:
If infection is suspected, what precautions should be taken?
Those who think they may have influenza of any kind should avoid taking public transport and wear a mask to avoid spreading the infection, according to Masaaki Murakami of the infectious diseases division of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. This is because all types of influenza, including the new one, are easily transmitted through the air, he said.
"When patients cough, sneeze or speak, viruses in their saliva fly 2 or 3 meters," he said. Flu may be transmitted if the infected saliva reaches someone else's mouth or nose, or their hands and they rub their eyes or eat with them, he added.
Those worried about infection should also be careful when removing their masks, according to Murakami.
"You don't want to touch its surface, which has probably absorbed other people's saliva," he said.
Other precautions include washing hands as well as wiping doorknobs and light switches with disinfectant, he added.
Some foreign medical experts say masks won't help prevent the spread of the flu. Are they right?
According to a spokesman from Japan's leading health care product company, Kowa Co., masks do help prevent flu from spreading if their filters are small enough to block infected saliva.
"Saliva particles with the virus are about 3 micrometers in diameter. Kowa makes masks with filters that block 0.1-micrometer substances," he said.
While some mask makers tend to advertise their products as working specifically for one type of prevention, such as blocking pollen, most other masks will work to combat flu as well, said the spokesman, who asked not to be named.
"It's just a marketing tactic appealing to people with hay fever during a particular season, and (the masks) probably work for colds and flu as well," he said.
He added that a good mask fits the face so it completely blocks infected saliva.
Where can I go for foreign-language advice if I think I have the new flu?
If you think you may have the flu, the government advises going to the new fever consultation centers opening in public health centers across the country, which accept inquiries about related symptoms.
The fever consultation centers will then advise you to go to hospitals designated to handle infectious diseases, of which there are 10 in Tokyo, including Tokyo Metropolitan Bokutoh Hospital in Sumida Ward and Tokyo Metropolitan Ebara Hospital in Ota Ward.
For information about the nearest fever consultation center in Tokyo in English, Chinese, Korean, Thai and Spanish, call Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Institution Information at (03) 5285-8181 between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily. Outside these hours, you can call Tokyo Fever Consultation Center at (03) 5320-4509, although they may not have foreign-language speaking staff.
For advice in Kyoto, call the consultation hotline at (075) 342-0088, where English-speaking staff are available daily between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese speakers from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
For consultation in Japanese, call (075) 222-3421 between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
How long will airline passengers have to wait in Immigration?
According to a Narita airport spokeswoman, all passengers on flights from the U.S., Canada and South America undergo medical inspections while still on board, which can take two hours or longer.
"When the planes land at Narita, we distribute surveys asking whether passengers have a fever or a cold, and those who reply in the affirmative receive a quick health check on the spot," she said.
She added that those suspected of having the flu are taken from the plane to avoid contact with other passengers.
Similar checks are being carried out on direct flights from the U.S. to Kansai International Airport, a spokesman for the quarantine division said.
Have foreign embassies issued warnings about traveling to Mexico?
According to the Mexican embassy in Tokyo, the Mexican government released a statement Thursday saying it has no plans to close national borders or restrict travel in and out of the country.
Although the U.S. and U.K. embassies in Japan have not themselves issued any particular warnings to Japan-based nationals against traveling to Mexico, the U.S. government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised American travelers to "avoid nonessential travel to Mexico," while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the U.K. is "advising against all but essential travel to Mexico."
Catherine II
Catherine the Great, who engineered the abdication of her husband, Peter III, to become empress of Russia (1762–96) and one of the most powerful women in history, was born in Prussia this day in 1729.
[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1939: Lou Gehrig's 2,130-game streak ended
On this day in 1939, New York Yankee great Lou Gehrig, the “Iron Horse” of American baseball, ended his streak of consecutive games played (2,130), setting a record that stood until 1995, when it was broken by Cal Ripken, Jr.
[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Baby at Yokota base latest flu scare focus
Yokohama boy now not linked to new strain
(Compiled from Kyodo, Staff reports) A baby who arrived Friday at the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo from the United States has tested positive for type-A influenza in a preliminary exam and may be the first case here of the new H1N1 strain, the Foreign Ministry said on the heels of reports that two Japanese earlier suspected of having caught the virus were in fact suffering other forms of flu.
A Yokohama high school boy who recently visited Canada had earlier been suspected of carrying the new strain, but a followup test turned out negative, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Friday.
Health minister Yoichi Masuzoe, breathing a sigh of relief, said the youth had the Soviet A-type influenza, not the swine-avian-human flu that first surfaced in Mexico and is causing pandemic fears.
Thursday night it was reported a 25-year-old woman returning to Japan aboard a Northwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles had tested positive for the influenza-A virus, possibly being Japan's first H1N1 case, but she was later diagnosed with type-A Hong Kong flu.
The 4-month-old baby who arrived at the Yokota base and the infant's mother have been isolated at a medical facility on base, while 13 other passengers seated near the baby on the airplane will be isolated until they are confirmed as not being infected with the H1N1 strain, the Foreign Ministry said, based on information provided by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
Details, including the gender of the baby, are not known.
The U.S. side is conducting further tests on the baby and will provide the results to Japanese authorities as soon as they are known.
The 17-year-old youth tested positive in a preliminary A-type flu test Thursday during a medical checkup after returning with classmates from a trip to British Columbia on April 25. His symptoms included a fever, coughing and phlegm, Masuzoe said.
The National Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, which examined the Yokohama sample, said it took time confirming whether the student had the H1N1 subtype, because the amount of virus in the sample was too small.
"There is no need to panic. I ask people to take measures against ordinary influenza, such as wearing masks and washing hands," Masuzoe said.
The Yokohama student had a fever of 39, but that dropped to 37 on Friday and he is recovering, city officials said.
None of his family or schoolmates has flu symptoms, but the city is questioning teachers and students about where they went and with whom they came into contact, the official said.
The boy tested positive on a polymerase chain reaction test that detects the DNA of the virus, but the results were not conclusive enough to declare he was infected with the new flu, the health ministry said.
A school official said 115 students and five teachers went on the excursion and came back to the school on three buses from Narita airport.
On Thursday, the World Health Organization said it will no longer use the term "swine flu" to refer to the new strain of A virus rapidly spreading across the world, citing protests from pork and other farm industries. The WHO will instead use the term "influenza A (H1N1)," a representative said.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Q&A
Tips to prepare for influenza outbreak
By MARIKO KATO and MINORU MATSUTANI
Staff writers
Concern about the new flu, called a type H1N1, is spreading in Japan as global alert levels have been raised regarding a possible pandemic.
Although no cases of infection has been confirmed in Japan, foreign residents in particular may be keen to know where to go for advice if they think they have the new bug.
Here are some basic questions and answers about the situation:
If infection is suspected, what precautions should be taken?
Those who think they may have influenza of any kind should avoid taking public transport and wear a mask to avoid spreading the infection, according to Masaaki Murakami of the infectious diseases division of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. This is because all types of influenza, including the new one, are easily transmitted through the air, he said.
"When patients cough, sneeze or speak, viruses in their saliva fly 2 or 3 meters," he said. Flu may be transmitted if the infected saliva reaches someone else's mouth or nose, or their hands and they rub their eyes or eat with them, he added.
Those worried about infection should also be careful when removing their masks, according to Murakami.
"You don't want to touch its surface, which has probably absorbed other people's saliva," he said.
Other precautions include washing hands as well as wiping doorknobs and light switches with disinfectant, he added.
Some foreign medical experts say masks won't help prevent the spread of the flu. Are they right?
According to a spokesman from Japan's leading health care product company, Kowa Co., masks do help prevent flu from spreading if their filters are small enough to block infected saliva.
"Saliva particles with the virus are about 3 micrometers in diameter. Kowa makes masks with filters that block 0.1-micrometer substances," he said.
While some mask makers tend to advertise their products as working specifically for one type of prevention, such as blocking pollen, most other masks will work to combat flu as well, said the spokesman, who asked not to be named.
"It's just a marketing tactic appealing to people with hay fever during a particular season, and (the masks) probably work for colds and flu as well," he said.
He added that a good mask fits the face so it completely blocks infected saliva.
Where can I go for foreign-language advice if I think I have the new flu?
If you think you may have the flu, the government advises going to the new fever consultation centers opening in public health centers across the country, which accept inquiries about related symptoms.
The fever consultation centers will then advise you to go to hospitals designated to handle infectious diseases, of which there are 10 in Tokyo, including Tokyo Metropolitan Bokutoh Hospital in Sumida Ward and Tokyo Metropolitan Ebara Hospital in Ota Ward.
For information about the nearest fever consultation center in Tokyo in English, Chinese, Korean, Thai and Spanish, call Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Institution Information at (03) 5285-8181 between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily. Outside these hours, you can call Tokyo Fever Consultation Center at (03) 5320-4509, although they may not have foreign-language speaking staff.
For advice in Kyoto, call the consultation hotline at (075) 342-0088, where English-speaking staff are available daily between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese speakers from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
For consultation in Japanese, call (075) 222-3421 between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
How long will airline passengers have to wait in Immigration?
According to a Narita airport spokeswoman, all passengers on flights from the U.S., Canada and South America undergo medical inspections while still on board, which can take two hours or longer.
"When the planes land at Narita, we distribute surveys asking whether passengers have a fever or a cold, and those who reply in the affirmative receive a quick health check on the spot," she said.
She added that those suspected of having the flu are taken from the plane to avoid contact with other passengers.
Similar checks are being carried out on direct flights from the U.S. to Kansai International Airport, a spokesman for the quarantine division said.
Have foreign embassies issued warnings about traveling to Mexico?
According to the Mexican embassy in Tokyo, the Mexican government released a statement Thursday saying it has no plans to close national borders or restrict travel in and out of the country.
Although the U.S. and U.K. embassies in Japan have not themselves issued any particular warnings to Japan-based nationals against traveling to Mexico, the U.S. government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised American travelers to "avoid nonessential travel to Mexico," while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the U.K. is "advising against all but essential travel to Mexico."
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