TOKYO, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Japan's public health officials said on Friday that the latest flu season has started across the country, which is earlier than usual.
According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 5,084 people were diagnosed with the flu in the week through last Sunday at about 5,000 medical institutions nationwide. The average per institution is 1.03, which is above the figure of 1.0 indicating the onset of flu season.
This season began weeks to a month earlier than average, and is the second earliest since records were first taken in 1999, following 2009.
The institute said that 98 percent of the cases confirmed since early October were found to be infected with the H1N1 strain, which caused a global pandemic in 2009.
A senior official at the institute said recent years have seen several types of strains spread over one season, and that people have the possibility of being infected twice. The official urged people to get flu vaccinations and take precautions such as washing hands frequently and wearing masks.
