Japan Hit By Influenza

Above, the Japan health ministry recommends wearing a mask to help check the
spread of the flu like the one the girl at right is wearing.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The flu season has been heavy here in the United States.  It even hit my household last week, but luckily I was spared.

RTT News is reporting that the flu has also struck Japan:

Japan is currently under a bout of influenza with the disease rapidly spreading especially among children, media reports from Tokyo said on Friday. 

According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, an estimated 1.4 million people have caught the flu in the week ended January 20. The average number of patients per hospital was over 22, which was 1.9 times more than that reported a week ago.

The Japanese health ministry recommends frequent washing of hands and wearing masks in public to help check the spread of the disease.

To read more, go here.