Message to Prefectural Citizens Announcement of Influenza A/H1N1 Spread Advisory

During last week (October 12th to 18th), the weekly threshold of Influenza A/H1N1 patient numbers was exceeded. Therefore today the government is issuing a spread advisory for Influenza A/H1N1 throughout the prefecture.

As for Influenza A/H1N1, most patients have had comparatively mild cases and are recovering with effective remedies such as Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) so there is no need for excessive worry.

However a large number of citizens do not carry immunity to this strain of Influenza and thus an even larger spread is predicted. As well, throughout the country there have been reports of pregnant women, children, and persons with underlying diseases, in rarity, suffering extremely severe infections. Therefore we ask that all citizens be individually vigilant in daily preventative measures such as gargling & washing hands, wearing a mask, etc., in order to curb spread to themselves and others. Moreover, pregnant women, children, and persons with underlying diseases should consult their family doctor regularly about how to handle infection before it happens.

Regarding the Influenza A/H1N1 vaccine, pregnant women, and persons with underlying diseases will be eligible for vaccination from mid-November; from mid-December and beyond, inoculations for children will be issued sequentially by age. For those eligible for priority vaccination, please contact your family doctor if you wish to be inoculated.

We kindly ask for your continued calm handling of this situation, and that you base your actions on accurate and concrete information.

October 20th 2009
Influenza A/H1N1 Policies Office
Gunma Prefecture

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