Flu Spreads in Quake-Hit Kumamoto as Japan Sees Early Outbreak

Kumamoto, Oct. 4 (Jiji Press)--As Japan saw the second-earliest start of a nationwide influenza outbreak, the flu is also spreading in Kumamoto Prefecture, which was hit by a powerful earthquake in July.

With more than 1,300 people still staying at evacuation centers two months after the July 28 temblor that registered the maximum 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale, an expert has stressed the importance of getting vaccinated early.

The average number of influenza patients reported per monitored medical institution nationwide exceeded 1.0 in the week through Aug. 23, the benchmark used to define the start of an outbreak. It was the second earliest start of a flu outbreak since records began in 1999, excluding 2023, when the flu was common year-round.

In the week that ended Sept. 27, the average number of patients stood at 7.17. The southernmost prefecture of Okinawa logged a figure higher than the warning level of 30, while four prefectures including Saitama, north of Tokyo, recorded numbers exceeding the alert level of 10.

Kumamoto marked the start of a flu outbreak in the week through Sept. 6, with the average number of patients reaching 3.86 for the week through Sept. 27.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]