The 豚インフルエンザ (Swine ‘Flu) virus seems to be out of control! (Actually, the name of this flu has been changed recently in Japan. It’s now called 「新型インフルエンザ」 (New Type Flu)).
Some people are saying that the media is blowing it out of proportion and the reality isn’t as bad as their making it seem.
But I don’t know about that…it seems pretty bad. And, unlike the conventional インフルエンザ (flu), it seems that a high number of teenagers are catching this disease.
As parents of three teenagers, news like that naturally concerns my wife and I! Even more disturbing for us is the recent news that four Japanese teenagers from 大阪 (Osaka, Japan) returned from a trip to Canada and had the first confirmed cases of 新型インフルエンザ (New Type Flu) in Japan….and then the number of teenagers in 大阪 (Osaka, Japan) with the flu has been rising this past weekend!
Currently, there are about 80 confirmed cases of 新型インフルエンザ (New Type Flu), consisting of high school and college students and some of their family members and teachers in the Osaka area of Japan.
Thankfully, no one has died from this disease in Japan yet.
This is nowhere as high as the over 4000 cases in America (with four deaths) or the nearly 3000 cases in Mexico (with 66 deaths)…but it’s still disturbing, especially since all of the cases in Japan have been reported just this past weekend! Hopefully, it won’t continue to spread!
(update (21 May 2009): There are now two teenage girls in the Tokyo area who went to America recently and now have the 新型インフルエンザ (New Type Flu). So it has spread to Tokyo. 😦 ).
Tokyo Five 
As I added to this post above…this 新型インフルエンザ (New Flu) has spread to Tokyo. 😦
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BTW, in Japan, the name of 豚インフルエンザ (Swine ‘Flu) has been changed recently to 「新型インフルエンザ」 (“New Type ‘Flu”).
Has the name been changed in other countries as well?
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wearing a mask sounds better than risking catching that flu. it must be spreading like wild fire just by contact within crowds. keep safe and use preventive measures whenever possible, this is mom’s advise.
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Of course. Catching the flu (the normal one or this new one is no fun!)
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Do you wear a mask on you? hehe
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No, although I have lived in Japan for over 18 years now…I still haven’t ever worn a mask.
They have always been popular in Japan (even long before this Swine Flu)…but I don’t like them.
But…if that 豚インフルエンザ (Swine Flu) comes to this side of Japan, I may have to wear one for the first time.
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Don’t worry the pig flu germs are so small they pass right through the masks, so don’t waste your money.
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>Don’t worry the pig flu germs are so small they pass right through the masks
I think you can get some masks that work better than others.
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Latest update – now 130 cases confirmed.
Was in lots of crowds in Tokyo this weekend. In Sumo, everyone entering the stadium had to clean their hands using one of those hand soaps (I don’t what you call me – doesn’t need water). In the Design Festa at Tokyo Big Sight, no such pre-cautions.
I also have a teenager, but not yet too worried about it. We don’t say we are from Canada any longer 🙂
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Yeah, the number keeps climbing! 😦
BTW, how did you like the sumo?
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Yes, I enjoyed Sumo, will write about it on my next blog post.
Yesterday, I wore a mask for the first time, but not because of the flu, but allergies and a cold. I took it off inside the office as it was not very comfortable. I have been taking over-the-counter allergy medicine which I brought from Canada, but it hasn’t been too effective.
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Is it OK to bring medicine from one country into another without a prescription?
Have you tried Japanese allergy medicine?
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Extra safety precautions have to be practised whereever we are. I know at the hospital they will ask us where we’ve been and if we had any flus etc and even at airports they’ve got body scan machines, i thought in Japan they would install these machines to detect the body temperature of the tourists and locals who have returned from overseas. I hope the H1N1 problem will be handled and contained very soon before it gets far more worse. Take good care of yourself and the family whenever you go out.
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Yes, Japan has these safety precautions in use too…but somehow the flu came to Japan.
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