Japanese boy in U.S. infected with new flu, Hokkaido boy negative

Friday 08th May, 10:30 AM JST

TOKYO —

A 6-year-old Japanese boy living in Chicago has become the first Japanese national confirmed to have caught the new strain of influenza, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said Friday.

Meanwhile, a boy in Hokkaido who visited the United States last month underwent tests for the new flu but was found negative, the Hokkaido prefectural government said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said that the boy in Chicago is recovering, and added that the government expects to receive a report on the health conditions of the boy’s close relatives.

The Chicago boy, a kindergartener, visited a hospital on Tuesday local time after having a fever of more than 38 C and was confirmed to be infected with the new flu on Thursday, officials of the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

His family told the Japanese Consulate General in Chicago of the infection, they said.

No cases of the new flu have been confirmed so far within Japan.

But there have been a number of cases in which people returning from trips abroad during the Golden Week holidays have tested positive for the influenza A virus and later tested negative for the new strain.

The Hokkaido boy had preliminarily tested positive for both the influenza A and B viruses, and the Hokkaido Institute of Public Health conducted a further examination to determine whether he is infected with the H1N1 subtype of influenza A.

According to Hokkaido officials, the boy visited Arizona from April 17 to 30 and arrived at Narita airport near Tokyo after taking a flight from Los Angeles.

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7 Comments

Okinawamike at 12:01 PM JST - 8th May

Key words: tested and suspected.
smithinjapan at 12:49 PM JST - 8th May

Okinawamike: Very true. I wonder if it's already here, though, and it's just being treated like a normal flu bug. Medicines and facilities here, while the former is abused for things like cold and flu, are quite advanced, so it's entirely possible it's as of yet simply undetected for what it is.

We'll see. Regardless, there's no reason for panic in my opinion, and no reason to be more vigilant than one usually is (save at the airports and ports).
boitoi at 12:53 PM JST - 8th May

kowaiyo-
hakujinsensei at 01:29 PM JST - 8th May

Heard all this back in 75 or 76. They said life as we know it would come to an end if we did not all get shots... Nothing came of it. Every year thousands and thousands die from the flu, though most of that is from secondary lung and heart infections. With everybody going to the doc here for hangnails and calluses and receiving the obligatory 5 day supply of antibiotics there have probably been plenty of cases here already that have just been diagnosed as type a flu and run their course. If everyone would wash their hands, cover their mouths, and keep their fingers out of their noses things will be fine. Does anybody know why it seems to be culturally acceptable here to cough without covering their mouths?
Okinawamike at 02:57 PM JST - 8th May

hakujinsensei: "keep their fingers out of their noses things will be fine." TAXI! Buuhhaaaa.

Now I'm off to get an IV because I stubbed my toe at work.
EurajReturns at 11:02 PM JST - 8th May

Why don't we stop flipping out about this strain that is so less dangerous than things like HIV... And you know, the flu that everyone already knows about.
michiyokuchiki at 03:42 AM JST - 9th May

goodness me. people every where are flipping out about this!