Authorities have now issued all 47 prefectures with a flu alert, as the epidemic continues to spread throughout the country, according to a report released Wednesday by the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center.
The number of people coming down with the flu is gradually declining in the southwestern and western parts of the country, including the Kyushu and Kansai regions, while the number is still growing in the Tohoku and Hokkaido areas, according to reports submitted to local health centers.
The flu alert had been issued to practically every prefecture over the past two weeks, according to the report, which was compiled by the affiliate of the Tokyo-based National Institute of Infectious Diseases.