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Japan’s Flu Cases Top Warning Level in Earliest Surge in a Decade

Health authorities urge basic prevention steps in response to the early-season surge.

Overview

  • For Nov. 10–16, the Health Ministry tallied 145,526 influenza patients from about 3,000 sentinel sites, averaging 37.73 per site.
  • The national average exceeded the warning threshold of 30 patients per site, reaching this level roughly five weeks earlier than last season.
  • Reported cases rose 1.73 times from the previous week, indicating a steep week-on-week increase.
  • Regional variation is marked, with Miyagi Prefecture reporting the highest rate at 80.02 patients per sentinel site.
  • Nagasaki issued its first seasonal advisory on Nov. 20 after 1,220 cases were reported in the latest week, equating to 23.92 per site, alongside eight grade-level school closures.