Commentary / World Oct 12, 2019
When is it OK for health officials to panic?
National May 8, 2019
by Eric Johnston
On Oct. 26, 1918, just over two weeks before the end of World War I, readers of The Japan Times & Mail, the predecessor of The Japan Times, woke up to the headline "Thousands Dying From Influenza Throughout the World," and an accompanying article ...
World / Science & Health Feb 19, 2019
Scientists said Monday they had discovered immune cells that can fight all known flu viruses in what was hailed as an "extraordinary breakthrough" that could lead to a universal, one-shot vaccine against the killer disease. Influenza epidemics, largely seasonal, kill hundreds of thousands of people ...
National Jan 31, 2019
Flu hits 300 staffers and inmates at Nagoya Prison, sparking lockdown and state of emergency
The last time more than a hundred people at the prison caught the flu was in 2015 when 109 got sick.
National / Science & Health Jan 27, 2019
Flu viruses resistant to new drug Xofluza uncovered in Japan
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases says mutated influenza viruses resistant to baloxavir marboxil, a new flu drug sold as Xofluza, were detected in patients last month.
National / Science & Health Jan 26, 2019
Number of flu patients nationwide hits second-highest level since 1999
The number of influenza patients per medical institution in Japan in the week through last Sunday hit the second-highest level since the survey started in 1999, the health ministry says.
National Jan 24, 2019
Death at Nakameguro Station in Tokyo highlights importance of rest after contracting flu
A recent series of accidents involving fainting by individuals infected with the influenza virus is prompting experts to stress the importance of getting a proper amount of rest. At around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a 37-year-old woman who was on her way to work was ...
National / Science & Health Jan 19, 2019
Suggesting an outbreak of the disease, the number of influenza patients per medical institution exceeded the alarm level of 30 in the week through Jan. 13.
National / Science & Health Jan 9, 2019
Japan's health ministry issues warning as number of flu patients sees sharp uptick
The health ministry issued a warning Wednesday as the number of influenza patients per medical institution reached 11.17 in the week through Dec. 30. The figure was up by 3.12 from the preceding week, according to reports from about 5,000 regularly monitored medical institutions, suggesting ...
World / Science & Health Sep 7, 2018
Passengers and crew on two flights to Philadelphia from Europe suffer illness
Passengers and crew on two flights arriving in Philadelphia from Europe on Thursday were screened by medical teams after 12 people aboard became ill with flu-like symptoms, a day after a similar outbreak on a flight from Dubai to New York. All 250 people on ...
National / Science & Health Feb 24, 2018
One-dose flu drug Xofluza gets nod from health ministry
by Tomoko Otake
Osaka-based drugmaker Shionogi & Co. has announced that the health ministry gave it approval to manufacture and market its new flu drug Xofluza, which requires only a single dose regardless of age. The drug, which has been approved in tablet form for use against the ...
National / Science & Health Feb 22, 2018
Japanese hospitals sick of requests for flu-recovery certificates
by Chisato Tanaka
With the latest flu variant engulfing Japan, hospitals are flooded not only with new patients but also former patients seeking medical certificates needed to prove full recovery to schools, employers and other institutions. Although the health and education ministries issued a statement during the major ...