1st domestic infections of new flu confirmed in Japan

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TOKYO, May 17 Kyodo -
Japan on Saturday detected its first domestic infection of the new strain of
influenza A, prompting the government on take actions to address the threat and
some schools to be closed amid signs of further expansion.
Three students from a high school in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, having no record
of traveling overseas recently, were confirmed as being infected, while five
students at a different high school in the city were also later found to be
infected. There are also suspected cases in Osaka Prefecture.
The outbreak came despite Japan's attempts to block the entry of the virus
through quarantines at airports. Four cases had been found through such health
inspections at Narita international airport among a group of Japanese students
and teachers who arrived May 8 on a flight from the United States after a trip
to Canada.
''We have entered a new phase (in tackling the new flu),'' Chief Cabinet
Secretary Takeo Kawamura told a government taskforce meeting to deal with the
new influenza, shortly after one of the three students at the prefecture-run
Kobe High School was confirmed to be infected.
''It is important to prevent the spread of the disease by examining the
patient's deeds and detecting those who had close contact with him,'' Kawamura
told the meeting.
In the face of the latest development, the government shifted the stage of its
new-flu action program from ''a period of overseas outbreak'' to ''an early
period of domestic outbreak'' and called for companies and schools in the areas
concerned to allow individuals to avoid commuting during rush hours.
Prime Minister Taro Aso said in a statement, ''The government is ready to take
measures to prevent the spread (of the new flu)...I hope people in Japan remain
vigilant while staying calm.''
An expert panel under the government's taskforce said it cannot rule out the
possibility that the infection is ''already gradually spreading'' in Japan, but
said the disease is known for causing relatively mild symptoms and drug
treatment is effective.
Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry officials said the ministry is planning to
gradually downscale the currently conducted strict quarantine inspections and
shift to measures to prevent the domestic spread of the influenza.
''Although quarantine (upon entry to Japan) was effective, we have to make a
shift in the measures we have been taking, on the basis that human-to-human
infections within the country have occurred,'' Nobuhiko Okabe, director of the
Infectious Disease Surveillance Center at the National Institute of Infectious
Diseases, told a press conference at the ministry.
More than 8,470 people in 40 countries and regions have been confirmed to be
infected with the new flu as of Saturday 10:30 p.m. Japan time, with 73 deaths
reported in four countries.
In addition to the three students in Kobe High School -- a 17-year-old male, a
16-year-old male and a 16-year-old female -- 17 other students at the same
school are feeling sick, while more than 10 students from other schools in the
prefecture have developed fever after playing volleyball with the infected
student, according to the local authorities.
The patient, who was the first confirmed to be infected and who is in his third
year at the high school, was sent early Saturday to a designated hospital in
Kobe that handles infectious disease patients. The 17-year-old ran a fever of
37.4 C Tuesday and visited a clinic where he tested positive for influenza A.
The specimen taken from him was not examined until Friday by a municipal
laboratory, where it tested positive for the new flu, a subtype of influenza A.
The city said it placed priority on checking the specimens sent by clinics
handling suspected H1N1 patients.
The teen's doctor requested that the laboratory test the specimen for a
seasonal flu rather than the new flu, because he had no history of overseas
travel, according to the city.
The student, who belongs to a volleyball club, took leave from Tuesday. As of
Friday, he was coughing but his temperature had dropped below 37 C. No health
problems have been observed among his family members, none of whom has a recent
history of overseas travel.
The five students, all female and later confirmed to have been infected, belong
to Hyogo Senior High School and are recovering. Four of them belong to a
volleyball club.
Some parts of Kobe city as well as adjacent Ashiya city in Hyogo Prefecture and
a city in Osaka Prefecture have decided to temporarily close public
kindergartens and elementary, junior high and senior high schools.
Kobe city also decided to request that events which may draw crowds be called
off and urged citizens to refrain from going out as much as possible. The Hyogo
prefectural government has decided to conduct health checks on students at all
prefecture-run schools.
Health minister Yoichi Masuzoe said the government ''will detect through
aggressive epidemiological study those who had close contact with the
(17-year-old) Kobe patient to hospitalize them or to urge them to refrain from
going out.''
The government has decided to hold a conference on countermeasures Monday
morning which is to be attended by Aso.
==Kyodo