BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Japan today shut down
more than 4000 schools to contain an outbreak of swine flu as most of
the cases of the A(H1N1) virus are high school students.
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People wear face masks at a shopping street in Kobe, western Japan, May 17, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Authorities have closed down around 4043
schools-- double the previous day -- to slow the spread of swine flu, which has
so far infected 173 people in the country--the fourth largest national figure on
the world infection table.
Many
people in the affected urban areas were wearing face masks after the western
cities of Kobe and Osaka became the first in Japan to suffer domestic outbreaks
of the virus, which spread rapidly through two schools.
The virus is believed to have spread after high
schools from the two cities played in a volleyball tournament, and some players
and coaches felt feverish afterwards.
The first confirmed domestic infection was reported
Saturday. No fatalities have been reported in Japan.
Experts warn the virus will likely soon spread to
other regions, including Tokyo, which with almost 36 million people is the
world's most populous urban area and the heart of the Japanese economy.
"The virus's spread to Tokyo is near certain and it
would be little wonder if the virus had already landed in Tokyo undetected,"
said Yukihiro Nishiyama, virologist at the medical department of Nagoya
University in central Japan.
(Agencies)
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