ID :
69092
Sat, 07/04/2009 - 21:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/69092
The shortlink copeid
Large-scale antibody test on new flu planned in Osaka
OSAKA, July 4 Kyodo -
A large-scale antibody test will be conducted on the new H1N1 influenza, ahead
of an anticipated second wave of the new flu later this year, at an Osaka
Prefecture school hit in May by Japan's worst group infection, prefectural
government officials said Saturday.
By detecting cases left unnoticed due to a lack of symptoms, the test, which
would be the largest of its kind in the country, will allow health officials to
measure the epidemic's real magnitude and devise more effective
countermeasures, the officials said.
Since the first cases were confirmed on May 17, a total of 101 students and two
teachers were found infected at Kansai Okura Junior & Senior High School in
Ibaraki in the prefecture -- an unprecedented group infection in Japan in terms
of scale and density -- but recovered before the school reopened June 1 from
two weeks of closure.
The blood of hundreds of students and family members will be tested for
antibodies that are created and remain for a while once a person is infected
with a virus, so those infected but not tested for the flu without symptoms can
also be found, the officials said.
The test results will be used in deciding the scale of school closure and other
restrictions in the event another group infection breaks out in the future,
they said.
The test is also expected to show how the virus spread in the school and give
useful epidemiological data for devising an action plan to control an epidemic,
an official said.
The prefectural government is currently revising its action plan in view of the
flu virus possibly turning more virulent in the next outbreak.
To realize the test, prefectural officials are negotiating with school
authorities to allow staffers of the Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public
Health to go to the school, they said.
Students of a yet to be decided high school grade and their family members who
agree to cooperate will have their blood examined before winter, they said.
Examinees' privacy and the voluntary nature of their cooperation will be paid
due attention in carrying out the test, the officials said.
An antibody test has a precedent of successfully detecting an otherwise unfound
mild infection in health officials engaged in sterilizing poultry farms hit by
avian influenza in Kyoto Prefecture in 2004.
==Kyodo
A large-scale antibody test will be conducted on the new H1N1 influenza, ahead
of an anticipated second wave of the new flu later this year, at an Osaka
Prefecture school hit in May by Japan's worst group infection, prefectural
government officials said Saturday.
By detecting cases left unnoticed due to a lack of symptoms, the test, which
would be the largest of its kind in the country, will allow health officials to
measure the epidemic's real magnitude and devise more effective
countermeasures, the officials said.
Since the first cases were confirmed on May 17, a total of 101 students and two
teachers were found infected at Kansai Okura Junior & Senior High School in
Ibaraki in the prefecture -- an unprecedented group infection in Japan in terms
of scale and density -- but recovered before the school reopened June 1 from
two weeks of closure.
The blood of hundreds of students and family members will be tested for
antibodies that are created and remain for a while once a person is infected
with a virus, so those infected but not tested for the flu without symptoms can
also be found, the officials said.
The test results will be used in deciding the scale of school closure and other
restrictions in the event another group infection breaks out in the future,
they said.
The test is also expected to show how the virus spread in the school and give
useful epidemiological data for devising an action plan to control an epidemic,
an official said.
The prefectural government is currently revising its action plan in view of the
flu virus possibly turning more virulent in the next outbreak.
To realize the test, prefectural officials are negotiating with school
authorities to allow staffers of the Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public
Health to go to the school, they said.
Students of a yet to be decided high school grade and their family members who
agree to cooperate will have their blood examined before winter, they said.
Examinees' privacy and the voluntary nature of their cooperation will be paid
due attention in carrying out the test, the officials said.
An antibody test has a precedent of successfully detecting an otherwise unfound
mild infection in health officials engaged in sterilizing poultry farms hit by
avian influenza in Kyoto Prefecture in 2004.
==Kyodo
