Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Health warning: flu outbreak quickly spreads across Japan
People stand by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Jan. 21. The number of flu patients in the country has topped 2.1 million. AP
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
An influenza outbreak is spreading across Japan at an alarming rate.
According to
Saturday, more than 2.1 million people have been infected with the flu.
The average number of patients at 5,000 medical institutions nationwide was 53.91 from Jan. 14-20, up 15 from a week before and the second-highest figure since the health ministry began collecting data in 1999.
Meanwhile, the number of patients increased to 2.13 million, up about 495,000.
The three most severely affected prefectures are Aichi, Saitama and Shizuoka.
The ministry said the H1N1 strain accounted for 60 percent of cases. The strain caused a global outbreak of a new influenza a decade ago.