ID :
58462
Thu, 04/30/2009 - 22:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/58462
The shortlink copeid
Japan to set up `fever clinics` nationwide in wake of higher flu alert
TOKYO, April 30 Kyodo -
Japan will set up ''fever clinics'' at select medical institutions nationwide
that will solely treat people suspected of being infected with the new
influenza spreading fast around the world, health minister Yoichi Masuzoe said
Thursday.
The step, intended to boost preparedness against the disease in the country,
where it has yet to see an outbreak, follows the World Health Organization's
decision Wednesday to raise its influenza alert level to phase 5, one notch
short of the full-scale pandemic phase.
''We will work to protect the lives and health of the people without fail by
strengthening the current state of preparedness as we find it necessary,''
Masuzoe said, urging the public to respond calmly to the situation.
Japan has yet to obtain a virus strain and will begin producing a vaccine as
soon as it receives one, while working to establish a system to keep track of
antiviral drugs in stock, the health, labor and welfare minister said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Taro Aso advised Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo
Kawamura via telephone in the morning to focus on the issue by taking all
possible measures, Aso told reporters in Beijing, where he is currently on a
visit.
Shortly after the conversation, the government convened a director
general-level meeting of its new flu task force with Kawamura and health
minister Masuzoe in attendance to discuss what additional steps, if any, to
take in response to the WHO action.
''The government will not fundamentally change its present policy immediately
because of the upgrading of the alert phase, but will thoroughly carry out
preventive measures to keep the flu at bay,'' Kawamura said at a news
conference.
The government does not intend to advise people to postpone traveling to
countries affected by the flu other than Mexico at the moment, the government's
chief spokesman said.
But the government will implement some of the options laid out in its flu
response guidelines to stop further spread if a case of human infection with
the virus eventually emerges in the country, Kawamura said separately.
In a move aimed at doubly making sure that the virus does not get into the
country, the farm ministry earlier the same day opted to closely inspect every
pig imported alive for breeding and other purposes, ministry officials said.
Under the latest step announced by Masuzoe, the government will proceed with
preparations to set up fever clinics, which are aimed at treating outpatients
with flu symptoms while preventing in-hospital infections, at hospitals across
the country.
The government is also stocking up doses of Tamiflu -- an anti-influenza
prescription drug believed to be effective against the new flu -- to respond to
the likely emergence of the flu in the country in the future.
A health ministry official said Thursday that doses of Tamiflu sufficient for
33.8 million people have been stockpiled by the central and local governments,
and that additional doses for about 8.3 million people are expected to be in
government stock soon.
Meanwhile, at U.S. bases in Japan, into some of which aircraft fly from abroad
carrying military personnel and supplies, messages have been sent around to
watch out for the flu within the forces, said Master Sgt. Donald Preston, a
public relations officer for U.S. Forces Japan.
No service member stationed in the country has exhibited symptoms of the flu,
but ''we continue to monitor the situation closely,'' Preston said, adding that
the military is weighing the possibility of moving personnel from a potentially
contaminated area to those which have yet to be affected.
Japan has yet to have either a confirmed or suspected case of the new flu,
which has mutated from swine flu and likely originated in Mexico, where the
country's health ministry said the death toll from suspected cases has risen to
more than 170.
Efforts have been ramped up at Japan's major international airports to check
passengers arriving from abroad, including Mexico, with thermographs and by
other means for any flu-like symptoms.
The swine flu outbreak has also been confirmed in the United States, New
Zealand, Canada, Britain, Austria, Spain, Israel, Costa Rica, Germany, Peru,
Switzerland and the Netherlands.
==Kyodo
Japan will set up ''fever clinics'' at select medical institutions nationwide
that will solely treat people suspected of being infected with the new
influenza spreading fast around the world, health minister Yoichi Masuzoe said
Thursday.
The step, intended to boost preparedness against the disease in the country,
where it has yet to see an outbreak, follows the World Health Organization's
decision Wednesday to raise its influenza alert level to phase 5, one notch
short of the full-scale pandemic phase.
''We will work to protect the lives and health of the people without fail by
strengthening the current state of preparedness as we find it necessary,''
Masuzoe said, urging the public to respond calmly to the situation.
Japan has yet to obtain a virus strain and will begin producing a vaccine as
soon as it receives one, while working to establish a system to keep track of
antiviral drugs in stock, the health, labor and welfare minister said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Taro Aso advised Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo
Kawamura via telephone in the morning to focus on the issue by taking all
possible measures, Aso told reporters in Beijing, where he is currently on a
visit.
Shortly after the conversation, the government convened a director
general-level meeting of its new flu task force with Kawamura and health
minister Masuzoe in attendance to discuss what additional steps, if any, to
take in response to the WHO action.
''The government will not fundamentally change its present policy immediately
because of the upgrading of the alert phase, but will thoroughly carry out
preventive measures to keep the flu at bay,'' Kawamura said at a news
conference.
The government does not intend to advise people to postpone traveling to
countries affected by the flu other than Mexico at the moment, the government's
chief spokesman said.
But the government will implement some of the options laid out in its flu
response guidelines to stop further spread if a case of human infection with
the virus eventually emerges in the country, Kawamura said separately.
In a move aimed at doubly making sure that the virus does not get into the
country, the farm ministry earlier the same day opted to closely inspect every
pig imported alive for breeding and other purposes, ministry officials said.
Under the latest step announced by Masuzoe, the government will proceed with
preparations to set up fever clinics, which are aimed at treating outpatients
with flu symptoms while preventing in-hospital infections, at hospitals across
the country.
The government is also stocking up doses of Tamiflu -- an anti-influenza
prescription drug believed to be effective against the new flu -- to respond to
the likely emergence of the flu in the country in the future.
A health ministry official said Thursday that doses of Tamiflu sufficient for
33.8 million people have been stockpiled by the central and local governments,
and that additional doses for about 8.3 million people are expected to be in
government stock soon.
Meanwhile, at U.S. bases in Japan, into some of which aircraft fly from abroad
carrying military personnel and supplies, messages have been sent around to
watch out for the flu within the forces, said Master Sgt. Donald Preston, a
public relations officer for U.S. Forces Japan.
No service member stationed in the country has exhibited symptoms of the flu,
but ''we continue to monitor the situation closely,'' Preston said, adding that
the military is weighing the possibility of moving personnel from a potentially
contaminated area to those which have yet to be affected.
Japan has yet to have either a confirmed or suspected case of the new flu,
which has mutated from swine flu and likely originated in Mexico, where the
country's health ministry said the death toll from suspected cases has risen to
more than 170.
Efforts have been ramped up at Japan's major international airports to check
passengers arriving from abroad, including Mexico, with thermographs and by
other means for any flu-like symptoms.
The swine flu outbreak has also been confirmed in the United States, New
Zealand, Canada, Britain, Austria, Spain, Israel, Costa Rica, Germany, Peru,
Switzerland and the Netherlands.
==Kyodo
