Cities worry about capacity to handle new flu

[Treyfish]

<!--// headline_end //--><!--// byline_start //-->The Yomiuri Shimbun
<!--// byline_end //--><!--// article_start //--><!-- google_ad_region_start=region1 -->Municipalities across the nation are worried about whether they will have enough hospital beds and if medical systems can cope with the influx of people expected to be hospitalized with the new flu if the virus' spread peaks in October as forecast.
The medical facilities of a municipality where a patient infected with the new flu recently died are already being stretched, with an official saying, "We have no option but to try to discharge patients from hospitals quickly."
The concerns come after Friday's announcement by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry that about 46,000 people could be hospitalized with the new flu in October.

In Okinawa Prefecture, where the number of flu patients per medical institution is about 19 times the national average and a patient infected with the new flu became the nation's first death from the disease earlier this month, the 199 beds in emergency hospitals capable of offering adequate medical care are already near 100 percent occupancy.
If the number of patients increases according to the ministry's prediction, the number of hospitalized patients would increase to about 500 at its peak, 2.5 times the current number of patients.
Tatsuya Miyazato, chief of the Okinawa prefectural government's health section, is bewildered by the situation, saying: "It is difficult for us to secure any more beds. We have no choice but to ask hospitals to urge patients with other diseases to leave hospitals earlier than planned."
The prefectural government is checking whether there are general hospitals that could provide medical care during holidays and at night.

In Nagoya, about 800 patients are expected to be hospitalized during the peak. Although there are about 3,000 vacant beds available in hospitals in the city, the number of beds that will actually be usable likely will be fewer, as "it's necessary to take special measures such as converting a four-bed room into a single-bed room to avoid infection," one official with the municipal government's health promotion section said.
The Nagoya government plans to hold a meeting with hospital officials on Sept. 8 and ask them to accept patients.
In Kobe, 54 beds are available for patients who need to be kept at hospitals that have outpatient clinics or fever clinics, which would examine patients in the event of an outbreak of the new flu. Currently all medical institutions deal with these patients, but it is not clear how many hospitals that are not fever clinics would accept these patients.
During the peak, about 540 patients are expected to be hospitalized in Kobe. An official at the municipal government's regional health section said, "We have to consider measures, including asking hospitalized patients with relatively light symptoms to leave the hospital and recover at home."

Tokyo, meanwhile, looks to have enough beds available, with 20,000 beds at the ready for an estimated 4,600 people who will need to be hospitalized at the peak time. The problem is the number of doctors. If the condition of an infected pregnant woman becomes severe and she needs to use an artificial respirator, a gynecologist and a respiratory medicine specialist are necessary. If the patient is a child, a pediatrician will need to help with the treatment.
The metropolitan government is worried about whether doctors will be able to cope if too many infected children and pregnant women concentrate at one hospital.
===
Panel for entry exams formed

The Education, Science and Technology Ministry on Friday set up a panel of experts, including infectious disease specialists, in preparation for an outbreak of new influenza during the university entrance examination season early next year.
The panel will look into infection prevention measures at examination sites to balance a test-taker's right to sit an exam and safeguard the health of other exam-takers if a person suspected of being infected with the new flu appears at an examination site.
(<!--// date_start //-->Aug. 30, 2009<!--// date_end //-->)http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national...30TDY02309.htm