489 students suspected of having new-flu infections at Wakayama schools

Wednesday 16th September, 11:17 AM JST

WAKAYAMA —

A total of 489 students at Wakayama City junior high and high schools affiliated with Kinki University are suspected of being infected with the new H1N1 strain of influenza A, prefectural officials said Wednesday. The infections—202 at the junior high and 287 at the high school as of Tuesday—appear to have been spread through a series of joint school events, such as a cultural festival last Wednesday and Thursday and a sports festival on Sunday, they said.

Both schools are scheduled to be closed from Wednesday to Friday due to the infections.

The new strain of influenza has forced a total of 2,158 schools and kindergartens in Japan to partially or entirely shut down during the week through last Saturday, the health ministry said Tuesday.

The figure, including kindergartens, primary schools, and junior and senior high schools in 46 prefectures other than Tokushima Prefecture, is about 2.8 times higher than in the previous week, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

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13 Comments

noborito at 07:42 AM JST - 16th September

And the end of the world is near. enough already.
moonbeams at 12:06 PM JST - 16th September

I just got over this. It's nothing to make light of.
kirakira25 at 12:25 PM JST - 16th September

Sorry you had such a hard time with it Moonbeams. I think it seems to affect different people in different ways. I had it two weeks ago with the whole family and for all of us it was a whole load of nothing. And one of my children has asthma and I am 8 months pregnant.

To anyone who hasn`t yet had it - it seems in our experience that the earlier you take the anti-virals the lighter it becomes. Try not to worry or freak out too much - there will always be stories of young healthy individuals succumbing to it, or having an anti-viral resistant version, but this is true of any outbreak.
moonbeams at 02:58 PM JST - 16th September

I didn't get the tamiflu until late in the game.

The first doctor I went to only looked into my mouth and decided that I didn't have the flu and that there was no need to bother with a test. He was wrong. Endured 2 immobile days then went to a different hospital, flu positive, got the antivirals.
bgaudry at 03:09 PM JST - 16th September

Run for your LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!
stirfry at 04:06 PM JST - 16th September

its.....just.....the.....flu
moonbeams at 04:10 PM JST - 16th September

a flu that can kill you.

I had a toned six pack throughout this flu because the coughing was so violent. I've never been hit by anything so severe before. This makes mono feel like breakfast.
kirakira25 at 07:17 PM JST - 16th September

Aha! That makes sense to me! The anti-virals only really work in the first 48 hours, after which they have minimal effect because the virus will have taken too much of a hold.

Well, on the bright side, (and assuming the thing doesn`t mutate) we are now in the "smug club" - people who are no longer freaking out about getting it because we now have the antibodies!

PS - try coughing when you have 1.8kg of fetus bouncing on your bladder! NOT pleasant!!!
moonbeams at 10:10 PM JST - 16th September

Kira, I'm just relieved that you got the medicine in time. I was coughing so violently, it literally toned my stomach.
MeanRingo at 04:16 AM JST - 17th September

Perhaps if they taught the Japanese kids some basic health prevention techniques like... covering your gd mouth when you cough, or... blowing your nose instead of snorting it back up or wiping it on the desks, door knobs etc. Not only is it more polite (I suppose this is a western thing) but it helps to slow the spread of illnesses.
888naff at 04:27 AM JST - 17th September

" blowing your nose instead of snorting it back up or wiping it on the desks, door knobs etc. Not only is it more polite (I suppose this is a western thing)"

...you might be surprised then to learn that Japanese abroad think "western habits" re how to blow your nose, coughing etc to be disgusting.. that's if they even cover their mouth, put dirty tissue back in pocket etc.
memyselfI at 06:16 AM JST - 17th September

school will be closed for three weeks !!!!! Yeah !!!!!
recherche88 at 07:26 AM JST - 17th September

memyselfI at 06:16 AM JST - 17th September school will be closed for three weeks !!!!! Yeah !!!!!

I hope! : D (of course we'll have to make it up, but I was brought up in the immediate gratification school of thought.)