As Japan saw the second-earliest start of a nationwide influenza outbreak, the flu is also spreading in Kumamoto Prefecture, which was hit by a powerful earthquake in July. With more than 1,300 people still staying at evacuation centers two months after the July 28 temblor that registered the maximum 7 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, an expert has stressed the importance of getting vaccinated early.
The average number of influenza patients per monitored medical institution has exceeded 1.0 in all 47 Japanese prefectures, signaling a nationwide flu outbreak, a health ministry announcement showed Friday. The ministry said that the number of flu patients at some 3,000 regularly monitored institutions across the country came to 7.17 on average in the week through Sunday.
While the figure was slightly lower than 8.48 the previous week, a ministry official said, “The decline may be temporary, given trends in previous years.”
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Monday 28th September that the number of influenza cases reported by around 3,000 designated medical institutions nationwide between Sept. 14 and 20 averaged 8.48 per institution. The figure was 1.53 times higher than the previous week, continuing an upward trend and approaching the “alert” level of 10 cases per institution.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. is considering going private, with a consortium of Japanese and British investment funds having proposed acquiring the company and overhauling its management, strengthening its quality-control operations, since health problems linked to its supplements containing “beni koji” red yeast rice came to light in 2024.
Patients with rare diseases and under prolonged treatment will be exempt from a new Japanese system that imposes additional out-of-pocket payments for prescription drugs that are similar to over-the-counter medicines, the health ministry indicated Wednesday.
Japan’s health ministry has ordered Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. to report on 20 deaths among users of Tavneos, a vasculitis drug marketed by the company in Japan, health minister Kenichiro Ueno said Friday.
The order was issued on June 19, giving the company, based in the central Japan city of Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, until July 21 to submit a report. “We’ll continue to consider our response based on a report from the company and future developments in the United States, where the drug was developed,” Ueno said at a press conference.
The Japanese health ministry is set to begin providing about 470 million yen in aid this fiscal year to medical institutions that conduct a large number of organ transplants from brain-dead patients.
The drug is estimated to have been administered to 12,000 to 13,000 patients in Japan. All 20 dead patients developed liver dysfunction, and 210 similar side effect reports have been made, including suspected cases.
The drug is estimated to have been administered to 12,000 to 13,000 patients in Japan. All 20 dead patients developed liver dysfunction, and 210 similar side effect reports have been made, including suspected cases.
Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced that for its vasculitis treatment drug “Tavneos” (generic name: avacopan), 20 deaths have been reported in Japan among patients who took the medication. This figure includes cases where a causal relationship is unclear. On the 15th, the company called on healthcare professionals to refrain from administering the drug to new patients.
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