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Rare Outbreak of Dengue Fever in Japan Rare Outbreak of Dengue Fever in Japan
(about 1 hour later)
Japan’s health minister on Friday urged the public not to panic after a popular park in central Tokyo was closed because of a rare outbreak of dengue fever. The Ministry of Health said that 70 people had been found infected with the dengue virus in the past week, in what it called the first outbreak in Japan since 1945. Dengue, which causes fevers and in rare cases death, is common in tropical climates, but not in temperate Japan. Officials said global warming might be playing a role in the spread of dengue to places like Tokyo that had been too cool for it in the past. This year, Japan had an unusually hot and humid summer with record high temperatures. The ministry said most of the people found infected had spent time in or near Yoyogi Park, where they were most likely bitten by mosquitoes that carried the disease. On Friday, health workers sprayed pesticides in the park to kill the insects. Japan’s health minister on Friday urged the public not to panic after a popular park in central Tokyo was closed because of a rare outbreak of dengue fever. The Ministry of Health said that 70 people had been found infected with the dengue virus in the past week, in what it called the first outbreak in Japan since 1945. Dengue, which causes fevers and in rare cases death, is common in tropical climates, but not in temperate Japan. Officials said global warming might be playing a role in the spread of dengue to places like Tokyo. This year, Japan had an unusually hot and humid summer. The ministry said most of the people found infected had spent time in or near Yoyogi Park, where they were most likely bitten by mosquitoes that carried the disease. On Friday, health workers sprayed pesticides in the park to kill the insects. No one has died in the outbreak.