Posted: 20 May 2009 1814 hrs
Pedestrians wear masks as a precaution against H1N1 flu in Japan.
TOKYO : The number of worldwide Influenza A (H1N1) flu infections surged past 10,000 on Wednesday, as the epidemic gathered pace in the United States and the first case was recorded in Tokyo.
The announcement in the Japanese capital that a 16-year-old high school girl had caught (A)H1N1 on a trip to New York underlined the scale of the challenge to contain the virus which has now been recorded in 41 countries.
The health ministry said that the number of (A)H1N1 virus infections in Japan rose to 251, excluding the Tokyo case, as of late Wednesday.
The number of confirmed H1N1 flu cases now stands at 10,243, said a spokeswoman for the World Health Organisation. The number of dead stands at 80, spokeswoman Fadela Chaib added.
"There is an increase of 413 cases in the past 24 hours, with most in the United States with 346 new cases... and in Japan there are 51 new cases," Chaib told journalists.
The increase in the United States raised the total there to 5,469 cases in 47 states plus Washington's District of Columbia.
The number of confirmed A(H1N1) infections in Mexico, the epicentre of the outbreak, rose by almost 100 in 24 hours to 3,660, health authorities said as they also announced four new deaths. Local officials say 76 people have died in Mexico, although not all of these deaths have been registered by the WHO.
And as dozens more cases were reported in Japan, Taiwan became the latest Asian government to record a case of the virus on its soil - in an Australian doctor who arrived by plane from Hong Kong earlier in the week.
Australia itself reported four new cases, including three young brothers, raising the overall number of confirmed infections to five.
Victoria state health authorities quarantined the family, along with some of the boys' classmates.
The mounting crisis has overshadowed proceedings at the WHO's ongoing annual assembly.
The UN organisation has already raised its alert level to five out of a sliding scale of six, indicating that a full-fledged pandemic is imminent.
The top level would indicate sustained community transmission in a second region outside the Americas and the escalating number of cases in Asia has increased the prospects of the red alert being sounded.
Tokyo, whose 36 million inhabitants make it the world's most populous urban area, had been clear of the virus until the announcement about the teenager late Wednesday.
"The girl lives in the western suburbs of Hachioji and has recently visited the US city of New York," said Toyomi Harada, a spokesman for the city's welfare and health department.
Face masks have become ubiquitous on buses, commuter trains and in shopping centres of affected areas in Japan where 228 people have been infected.
Many of the cases have been among school students, prompting authorities to close more than 4,400 schools, colleges and kindergartens for the rest of the week to slow the spread of the virus.
Governments in Asia, where memories of the bird flu crisis remain raw, have been swift to quarantine both locals and foreigners in a bid to stop H1N1 flu in its tracks.
But a group of some 20 foreign tourists held in Tibet over fears an Italian woman with them had H1N1 flu were released on Wednesday after tests showed she was suffering from common influenza, Chinese officials said.
Meanwhile Egyptian Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali warned of the dangers posed by H1N1 flu to millions of Muslim pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia.
Gabali told the independent daily Al-Masri Al-Yom that "there is a large possibility" the A(H1N1) virus may reach Egypt with returning pilgrims. -
AFP/ms
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
Pedestrians wear masks as a precaution against H1N1 flu in Japan.TOKYO : The number of worldwide Influenza A (H1N1) flu infections surged past 10,000 on Wednesday, as the epidemic gathered pace in the United States and the first case was recorded in Tokyo.
The announcement in the Japanese capital that a 16-year-old high school girl had caught (A)H1N1 on a trip to New York underlined the scale of the challenge to contain the virus which has now been recorded in 41 countries.
The health ministry said that the number of (A)H1N1 virus infections in Japan rose to 251, excluding the Tokyo case, as of late Wednesday.
The number of confirmed H1N1 flu cases now stands at 10,243, said a spokeswoman for the World Health Organisation. The number of dead stands at 80, spokeswoman Fadela Chaib added.
"There is an increase of 413 cases in the past 24 hours, with most in the United States with 346 new cases... and in Japan there are 51 new cases," Chaib told journalists.
The increase in the United States raised the total there to 5,469 cases in 47 states plus Washington's District of Columbia.
The number of confirmed A(H1N1) infections in Mexico, the epicentre of the outbreak, rose by almost 100 in 24 hours to 3,660, health authorities said as they also announced four new deaths. Local officials say 76 people have died in Mexico, although not all of these deaths have been registered by the WHO.
And as dozens more cases were reported in Japan, Taiwan became the latest Asian government to record a case of the virus on its soil - in an Australian doctor who arrived by plane from Hong Kong earlier in the week.
Australia itself reported four new cases, including three young brothers, raising the overall number of confirmed infections to five.
Victoria state health authorities quarantined the family, along with some of the boys' classmates.
The mounting crisis has overshadowed proceedings at the WHO's ongoing annual assembly.
The UN organisation has already raised its alert level to five out of a sliding scale of six, indicating that a full-fledged pandemic is imminent.
The top level would indicate sustained community transmission in a second region outside the Americas and the escalating number of cases in Asia has increased the prospects of the red alert being sounded.
Tokyo, whose 36 million inhabitants make it the world's most populous urban area, had been clear of the virus until the announcement about the teenager late Wednesday.
"The girl lives in the western suburbs of Hachioji and has recently visited the US city of New York," said Toyomi Harada, a spokesman for the city's welfare and health department.
Face masks have become ubiquitous on buses, commuter trains and in shopping centres of affected areas in Japan where 228 people have been infected.
Many of the cases have been among school students, prompting authorities to close more than 4,400 schools, colleges and kindergartens for the rest of the week to slow the spread of the virus.
Governments in Asia, where memories of the bird flu crisis remain raw, have been swift to quarantine both locals and foreigners in a bid to stop H1N1 flu in its tracks.
But a group of some 20 foreign tourists held in Tibet over fears an Italian woman with them had H1N1 flu were released on Wednesday after tests showed she was suffering from common influenza, Chinese officials said.
Meanwhile Egyptian Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali warned of the dangers posed by H1N1 flu to millions of Muslim pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia.
Gabali told the independent daily Al-Masri Al-Yom that "there is a large possibility" the A(H1N1) virus may reach Egypt with returning pilgrims. -
AFP/ms
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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