Number of flu cases high in Tokyo, other urban areas

TOKYO, Sept. 25 Kyodo -
The number of influenza patients at designated medical institutions during the
week ended Sunday stood at 10.24 per facility in Tokyo, topping the mark of 10
per facility deemed to indicate the possibility of a major outbreak in four
weeks, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Friday.
The figure in Osaka Prefecture was also high at 9.21, while the epidemic in
Okinawa Prefecture seems to have passed its peak, ministry officials said.
Most of the flu patients in the reporting week are believed to be infected with
the new H1N1 strain of influenza A, the officials said.
The number of influenza patients reported by around 5,000 designated medical
institutions across Japan during the week was 23,275, or 4.95 per facility, up
for the 11th consecutive week.
By prefecture, the figure per facility was still highest in Okinawa Prefecture
at 12.52 but was down for the fourth week in a row. Okinawa was followed by
Tokyo and Osaka.
''The figures are generally high in urban areas such as Tokyo and Osaka. The
areas where there are many young people and the population is concentrated are
about to enter a full epidemic. We need to be on the alert,'' a ministry
official said.
==Kyodo