LOC11:04
08:04 GMT
TOKYO, Aug 19 (KUNA) -- Japan's swine flu epidemic is fully underway,
Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said Wednesday, calling on
the public to take preventive measures.
Masuzoe made the remarks after the third death in the country from the new
H1N1 virus was confirmed earlier in the day.
"The government will upgrade its measures to prevent the further spread of
infection, and I hope the public to act calmly based on correct information,"
the minister told a press conference.
He also warned that infection could spread rapidly when schools reopen in
September after the summer holidays.
The Nagoya local government, central Japan, said Wednesday that an
81-year-old woman died after developing a high fever since last Thursday. The
woman was confirmed on Tuesday to have contracted the disease. The patient had
no record of overseas travel and it is unknown how she became infected.
On Saturday, a 57-year-old man in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa
became Japan's first fatality from the H1N1 influenza.
On Tuesday, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said the number
of influenza patients reported during the week of August 3-9 stood at 4,630,
about 2,000 more than in the previous week. (end)
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