Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
Flu epidemic seen putting 100,000 in hospitals a day
The Yomiuri Shimbun
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About 100,000 people would be hospitalized a day if a new and virulent influenza strain caused an epidemic lasting up to eight weeks, according to an estimate by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
The estimate came from Masanori Nishiyama, head of the ministry's Health Service Bureau, while answering a question from Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Mitsuru Sakurai at the House of Councillors Budget Committee on Monday.
The ministry estimates that, in a worst-case scenario, if a new type of influenza becomes a prolonged epidemic, about 25 million people would be infected, with about 2 million hospitalized and 640,000 dead.
(<!--// date_start //-->Feb. 5, 2008<!--// date_end //-->)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080205TDY02304.htm
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