光洋中学「インフルエンザのため学校閉鎖」、根室高校修学旅行出発 #781 Nov. 2, 2009

光洋中学学校閉鎖　#781 Nov. 2, 2009
  今日から1週間（8日まで）、光洋中学が学校閉鎖となった。歯舞中学も7日まで学校閉鎖だ。これで市街化地域の中学校３校と小学校3校がすべて学校閉鎖となった。
　お隣の町立中標津病院で１１月１日（日曜日）のお昼近くに、救急外来で５０人ほどのマスクをした患者が診察待ちをしていたことと併せ考えると、根室管内全域に新型インフルエンザが蔓延しているとみていいようだ。

　根室高校は今日、修学旅行へ出発した。インフルエンザが猛威を振るう最中（さなか）のことだから、旅行中に発熱する生徒が何人か出ることだろう。これはしょうがない。先生方が発熱した生徒のためにタミフルを携行していればいい。適切な準備があれば好いのだ。

　さて、新型インフルエンザの新規患者が先週ついに百万人（先々週は83万人、先週の推計値は114万人）を超えた。英語の勉強が好きな(?)高校生のためにジャパンタイムズの記事を貼り付けておく。内容がわからない場合は、学校帰りにでもニムオロ塾へ寄ればいい。この記事に関することは教えてあげる。

Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Week sees 1 million new cases of H1N1
Virus' spread accelerating; vaccinations stepped up

Kyodo News

The week that ended on Oct. 24 saw more than 1 million people come down with the new H1N1 influenza, the highest number of new cases since the virus was first reported in Japan, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Friday.

Swine flu vaccinations were meanwhile started in three prefectures Friday targeting people other than medical workers deemed at high risk of catching the disease.

The estimated number of new patients, most of whom are believed to be infected with the H1N1 strain, was 1.14 million, up from 830,000 the week before, bringing the cumulative total to 4.31 million since early July, when the weekly tally began to rise as the epidemic took hold.

The number of flu patients reported during the week by roughly 5,000 designated medical institutions jumped to 118,570 from 84,976 the week before.

In Kumamoto Prefecture, a man in his 20s became the 38th person to die of H1N1 in Japan, the prefecture said Friday.

The man was found dead Thursday evening at his home by a family member, and it was confirmed Friday that he had been infected with H1N1.

Gifu, Wakayama and Yamaguchi prefectures on Friday became the first to begin vaccinating pregnant women and people with chronic diseases against swine flu. Other prefectures will begin vaccinations next month.

These two groups, considered at high risk of developing severe symptoms, were placed second on the government's priority list to receive the vaccines.

Doctors and other health care workers top the list; vaccinations for them started nationwide on Oct. 19.

There are currently about 3,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine available in Yamaguchi Prefecture, while Gifu has doses for 8,000 people and Wakayama for 6,000. Hospital patients were the first group to be vaccinated Friday morning in the three prefectures.

Yamaguchi had initially planned to begin vaccinations in early November for pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes. But a recent government decision to limit the doses given to medical staff to one instead of two allowed the schedule to be moved up.

Separately, medical institutes began testing combined flu vaccines on children to determine if the dosage is appropriate.

Concerns have been expressed that the amount normally given to toddlers may not be sufficient to prevent the disease.

The test vaccines are being given to 360 children from 6 months to 13 years old at eight medical institutes around the country. The vaccines are manufactured by four Japanese pharmaceutical companies and are designed to prevent H1N1 and seasonal flu.