Health center offers flu prevention tips

The Yomiuri Shimbun

With the onset of the influenza season, medical experts are calling on people to be more careful as strict preventive measures against common types of flu may be effective against new types of flu, such as the mutation of avian flu into a human-to-human strain.

The municipal public health care center in Otaru, Hokkaido, published a pamphlet last month about measures to prevent new types of flu and distributed copies to public facilities.

The center received numerous inquiries from other health care centers, as well as companies from around the nation.

Tatsuhito Tonooka, head of the Otaru center responsible for the pamphlet, is worried about the limited amount of information available on new strains of flu and has collated the latest information, from home and abroad, on a Web site (http://homepage3.nifty.co/sank/).

Tonooka warns, "The possibility of a mutation of bird influenza virus into a new type affecting humans is increasing, so it's necessary to make preparations."

Many people have developed some immunity against conventional types of flu through being infected many times and, subsequently, getting vaccinated.

But no one is immune from new strains of flu, and as no vaccines are available, there could be an epidemic once a virus takes hold.

It is necessary to prevent an outbreak through measures other than vaccination. But medical experts say preventive measures against conventional flu and any new type are the same.

"People hold a deep-rooted optimistic view because influenza isn't an unusual disease and occurs every winter. If people take basic preventive measures, they can be effective against both conventional and new types," Tonooka said.

The leaflet, in Japanese, can also be read on the Otaru center's Web site (http://www.city.otaru.hokkaido.jp/hokenjo/). It includes tips on how to choose masks, effective ways of washing hands and gargling, and things to remember when going to hospital for treatment.

Though vaccination is effective in preventing conventional types of flu, medical experts recommend that elderly people also get vaccinated against pneumococcus.

When elderly people catch flu, they tend to be vulnerable to pneumonia, as membranes in the throat become rough, causing immunity to be weakened.

To prevent flu, the Otaru center's pamphlet offers the following advice:

-- Elderly people and infants should avoid going outside as much as possible.

-- Wear a mask when going out and avoid crowded places.

-- Wash your hands after contact with other people, touching doorknobs or other objects that may have been touched by other people.

-- When people around you cough or sneeze, wash your hands and face as soon as possible. Never rub your eyes with your hands.

-- After returning home, change clothes and wash your hands. Avoid touching the clothes for eight hours after taking them off as flu viruses attached to them can survive for that length of time.

To prevent infecting others when you have flu:

-- Refrain from going outside or going to work until symptoms are eased.

-- If going out is unavoidable, wear a mask. When coughing or sneezing, cover your face with tissue paper while still wearing your mask.

-- Used masks and tissue paper should be put in a plastic bag when disposing of them.

-- Don't cook.  - I need help on this one!?!