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| Science & Technology |
| Japan Avian Flu Plan |
| 2009-02-13 |
| Japan's plan for any future influenza pandemic calls for shutting down airports, closing schools and organizing mass cremations of the dead in hopes of keeping the virus off its shores or at least containing it. The government plan estimates that a new human flu virus could infect a quarter of the population and force 40 percent of the workforce to stay home. It could cause as many as 640,000 deaths in Japan if it were to spread across the country, the health ministry said Thursday. While there have been no warnings of increased risk this year, flu fears have been stoked in Japan in the wake of hit film "Kansen Retto" ("Infected Archipelago"), which portrays an outbreak that causes death and chaos. The government also held a highly publicized pandemic preparedness drill last month. This week, major electronics maker Panasonic Corp. ordered the families of Japanese overseas employees to return home from developing countries that may be at risk, including China, most parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The company denied the measure was taken to save money... The World Health Organization has called on countries to develop national plans on how to control the virus should it begin to spread among humans. Japan's plan would keep open just four airports and three ports, where a strict quarantine would try to prevent the virus' entry if it emerges overseas. Charter flights would bring healthy Japanese back home, but those infected would be asked to stay abroad and foreigners would be restricted from entry. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |