The number of people diagnosed with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or SFTS, a tick-borne viral disease, in Japan this year totaled 135 as of Aug. 10, marking a record high, according to data from the Japan Institute for Health Security. The previous record high was 134 cases in 2023. If infected, the disease can cause symptoms, including fever and abdominal pain, after an incubation period of six to 14 days.
In light of the recent spate of indoor heatstroke cases due to the record-breaking heatwave, it was learned on the 18th that Tokyo has decided to implement measures to reduce the financial burden on elderly and disabled households who purchase energy-efficient air conditioners. On the same day, four Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly factions each submitted requests to Governor Koike Yuriko as part of their heat countermeasures.
A Japanese health ministry panel Wednesday approved a plan to cut the price of Lecanemab, an Alzheimer’s drug codeveloped by Japanese drugmaker Eisai Co. and U.S. industry peer Biogen Inc., by 15 pct in Japan starting Nov. 1. The price of the drug will be lowered to 97,277 yen for a 500-milligram bottle. Dosages are based on weight. For example, a patient weighing 50 kilograms would see an annual cost reduction from about 2.98 million yen to about 2.53 million yen.
According to the team, the newly developed drug, Adriana, is a groundbreaking painkiller, which works on a completely different mechanism to morphine and other existing synthetic opioids. The drug has the potential to revolutionize pain control in the medical field, the team said. The team also expects that the drug will help resolve the so-called opioid epidemic, in which a large number of deaths occur mainly due to overdoses of opioids.
In a survey conducted by the Cabinet Office, half of the respondents said they knew about the ‘Help Mark’. However, this percentage shrank as respondents’ age increased, with only 30% of people age 70 or older recognizing it. These days, defamatory content on social media has become a societal problem. There is no end to cases of people participating in fraud and robbery that target senior citizens, as if they were doing ordinary part-time jobs. It is regrettable if there is a growing lack of consideration for others.
A major problem the drug and supplement maker must address is the “strong tendency to depend on top management,” seen among its employees, Ota said in a recent interview. In March 2024 it was discovered that Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Cos supplement containing ‘beni koji’ – red fermented rice – had led to several deaths from kidney failure.
Most conventional public health insurance cards under the medical care system for the elderly and the national health insurance program will expire on Thursday as part of a full transition to a digital system. Starting Friday, people without a My Number personal identification card with health insurance card functions must present an eligibility certificate to receive medical care, in line with the shift to using My Number cards as health insurance cards.But to prevent confusion, the health ministry will allow conventional paper or plastic health insurance cards to be used until the end of March 2026 to receive medical care.
Over 10,000 people in Japan were taken to hospital due to heat-related illnesses over the course of a week in July, marking the highest weekly figure so far this year, official data showed Tuesday, with temperatures topping 35 C at hundreds of observation points. Among the individuals, 260 required hospitalization for more than three weeks, while 3,624 needed short-term stays in medical facilities. Of those taken to hospital, 55.6 percent were aged 65 or older.
A health ministry panel of experts on Friday called for consolidating surgeries and radiotherapies for cancer treatment, citing such reasons as the dwindling number of surgeons in Japan. Shortages of surgeons are expected to accelerate toward 2040, according to the proposals. Radiotherapy devices are expensive and the number of patients who need radiotherapy varies by region. Demand for cancer surgeries is projected to decrease by 5 pct by 2040, while that for radiotherapy is projected to increase by 24 pct, according to the panel.
The number of people sent to hospital by ambulance due to heatstroke in Japan in June more than doubled from a year before to 17,229, the highest for the month on record dating back to 2010, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Wednesday. The previous June high was 15,969 cases logged in 2022.
Barrier Free Japan