150,000 patients estimated to have contracted flu this week

Friday 28th August, 03:49 AM JST

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dontpanic at 04:37 PM JST - 28th August

This is pretty much how the infection rate spiralled up in the UK. It hasnt brought the country to its knees, inless theres an massive overeaction it shouldnt bring Japan down either.
Disillusioned at 04:51 PM JST - 28th August
Hey! Read the report again! They are not all swine flu cases. The report refers to the flu in general. Furthermore, these strains of flu are no more infectious than any other. They are not spread through the air. They are spread by not washing your hands or having a kind infected person cough in your face on a peak hour train.
- So, it would seem that Okinawa, Saitama and Kanagawa are the dirtiest prefectures where people do not wash their hands.
smithinjapan at 05:57 PM JST - 28th August

Kemuri: YES, it's very contagious, but the virus itself, at this point in time, is not at all strong. In fact, it seems to be quite mild. Everyone who has died from it, and in Japan there have been four confirmed deaths, were elderly and suffering from other ailments at the time.

What the government needs to do is get the message across that people should NOT panic. Go about life as normal, plus perhaps a bit more vigilance in cleaning the hands and gargling (though I think the latter is a bit of a crock). But already I've noticed a lot of people are going out and getting Tamiflu for the family, when it should be reserved only for young kids and the elderly, so it's pretty clear the government isn't doing all that good a job of preventing over medicating.

Oh, and don't waste your time with flu shots, people... just a waste of money, a means to weaken your immune system, and ultimately a way to make the virus more resistant. And if this really is the number for only today, then be ready for it to increase exponentially. I kind of envy the people who got it out of the way quickly.
888naff at 06:35 PM JST - 28th August

"Tamiflu for the family, when it should be reserved only for young kids and the elderly, "

some argue that is a bad idea.

Tamiflu can be dangerous for kids. Google news about it and you should find out what i mean.

not sure what you say about flu shots too actually.... and its free in some countries
GW at 06:42 PM JST - 28th August

wud be nice if kyodo cud publish what the averages have been this time of year in the past to put this into perspective..............but thats asking way too much
Sebaschan at 06:46 PM JST - 28th August

there must be one zero too much in this report... if it was 11636 infected last week and the week before 7750 its now an estimate of 15000... thats not even exponential :)
gogogo at 06:46 PM JST - 28th August

Thanks for keeping us safe Japan.
cow76 at 09:03 PM JST - 28th August

I hardly think the possibility of a quality online news website making a basic mistake like adding an extra zero falls into the bounds of possibility. That would also imply failure to proof-check, something so laughably unlikely that it may be safely ignored.
Disillusioned at 09:23 PM JST - 28th August

smithinjapan - Everyone who has died from it, and in Japan there have been four confirmed deaths, were elderly and suffering from other ailments at the time.

Sorry Smithy, while this may be true in Japan (to date) it is not the case internationally. There have been a number otherwise healthy and young people die from the new flu without any other ailments being involved.
biglittleman at 10:23 PM JST - 28th August

@Disillusioned

What countries are you referring to? Because in some countries a simple cold or a cut could kill. As a matter of fact any illness can become life threatening if you do nothing to stop it. Like building up your immunity with proper diet, rest or medicine. Like some others have said, the common cold kill more people than anything else.
smithinjapan at 11:33 PM JST - 28th August

naff888: "some argue that is a bad idea."

I agree that Tamiflu is a bad idea altogether, but as it's already proven to have no effect in a few cases in Japan and Britain, it's been recommended that if ANYONE take it it be limited to those groups (originally, any way). You're right, though, until this influenza rolled around the government actually made a point to warn doctors against prescribing it for kids, which of course young mothers easily worked their way around and gave them anyway. Now the whole family is taking it.

Disillusioned: biglittleman beat me to it, to an extent, but I'd like to see the stats on those countries of how many 'healthy' people die of regular influenza and see if it's any different this time around. Pneumonia can kill anyone, regardless of health, and so can the flu. Which is why I said that people need to REST AND TAKE PROPER CARE (minus all the meds). It is almost certain that people who nearly work themselves to death as it is will start dying off once this flu becomes more serious. Allergies, excema, illnesses related to breathing difficulties (ex. Asthma) have sky-rocketed in the current generation, and if these people don't take proper care and insist on over-medicating the country better get ready for the death toll to climb exponentially.
marzipan at 01:06 AM JST - 29th August

There are some who believe the soon to be distributed vaccine is more dangerous than the flu. Is this media hype concerning the flu warranted considering the number of swine flu related deaths in Japan to date? http://www.theflucase.com/
USARonin at 01:10 AM JST - 29th August

How many people has the Mexican flu killed in Japan so far?

How many people has the annual flu killed in Japan this year?
Icewind007 at 03:10 AM JST - 29th August

The "new virus" is nothing but the major stupidity of politicians... A major business boost for medical. It is a handy scape-goat or excuse for figures to look like they are handling matters diligently. This is ultimately the result of crafty politicians taking interesting data from scientists and warping it into the modern plague.

Looking at overall statistics, the ever-so-famous H1N1 virus has done hardly anything significant beyond the normal flu. If you died from H1N1 flu, you'd probably die from any other flu. Any flu will spread world-wide. That's normal. The flu kills 1000s every year. The only thing special about this virus was its structure. Built from various kinds of flu. But that means nothing to us, the population. Reminds me of the absolute stupidity of people killing pigs because of fear of the "Swine" flu due to the name alone. It had the ability to infect more than just pigs... but food cannot spread the flu (common knowledge).

And gargling? That's so useless it's funny. Masks work, washing hands work, but there's only so much you can do. Treat it like any other flu spreading around, which is doing hardly anything different at all unless you are vulnerable.
IvanCoughalot at 06:23 AM JST - 29th August

150,000 new cases - and still no soap in the subway lavvies.

Coincidence? Or something more sinister?