Japan issues nationwide influenza caution

The health ministry issued a nationwide influenza caution on February 3 as experts urged early treatment if the fever persists for two days or more.

This is the first influenza epidemic in three years, as cases dropped dramatically during the novel coronaviruses epidemic that struck in 2020.

The average number of influenza patients at 5,000 or more medical institutions in the country for the week of January 23 -- 29 stood at 10.36 per facility, beating the benchmark of 10 patients used to determine if a caution should be issued.

For the most recent week, sixteen prefectures reported averages in excess of 10 patients. Some local governments went ahead and issued cautions even if the benchmark was not breached in their jurisdictions.

Some 500 medical institutions used to monitor influenza patients' hospitalization trends reported that 705 patients required hospitalization in January, and that many of them were children under the age of 10.

There is a need for caution in the young children to prevent developing acute encephalopathy.

The Japanese Society of Child Neurology guidelines state that influenza is the leading cause of acute encephalopathy. Every year, between 100 and 200 children are hospitalized for it. Most of the infants are under the age of 5 and about 15 die in an average year.

If a person has a fever above 38 degrees for two days straight and has difficulty breathing, they should immediately consult a doctor for treatment, experts said.