Medicine and Healthcare

Let’s be aware of gastroenteritis from the norovirus!

Although the norovirus mainly spreads during the winter seasons, there have been cases of gastroenteritis at health clinics and social welfare centres outside of those seasons. As well as trying to protect yourself from contracting the virus, try to wash your hands and gargle water often, and if you feel any symptoms coming on, consult a medical centre as soon as possible.

1. What is the norovirus?

It is a virus that mainly spreads during winter as a result of viral food poisoning. Gastroenteritis cases from the norovirus peak between December and March every year across the country.

2. How does it spread?

The virus can spread through oral infection, for example by consuming tainted or infected food (such as shellfish) or drinking water. Faecal-oral infection between people also spreads the virus (coming into contact with faeces or vomit of someone who is infected, and through oral contact with things that have been exposed to those faeces or vomit).

3. What are the symptoms?

After 1 or 2 days from the virus entering your body, symptoms such as severe nausea, vomiting, stomachache, diarrohea, and fever will develop. It was once called the “winter vomiting disease” due to how often some need to vomit. It may also start off with symptoms similar to a common cold.

4. How can I protect myself?

Making sure you wash your hands often, and washing the virus from cooking utensils properly is the best way. In particular, pay scrupulous attention and try to wear gloves when dealing with vomit or faecal matter. Furthermore, as the norovirus is killed at high temperatures, heat up food properly (to 85 degrees, for at least a minute), and you can sterilise cooking utensils by heating them. Unlike bacterial food poisoning, the virus does not reproduce in food, nor release toxins.

5. How can I be cured?

Although there is no specific treatment or antiviral drugs which can deal with the norovirus, with symptomatic treatment, symptoms usually become less serious within several days. However, as the infection can become worse in those patients with lower immunity levels, such as the elderly or infants, it may be necessary to admit these patients to hospital.

Let’s be aware of gastroenteritis from the norovirus!

PM2.5

1.　What is “PM2.5”?

In the air and atmosphere, there are tiny particles (about 30 times smaller than a single hair) with a diameter of 2.5μm (micrometres) or less (1μm = 0.001mm). These particles are produced by everyday items such as cars and boilers, as well as by things in nature, like volcanoes. These particles can penetrate deep into people’s lungs, and are said to have bad effects on them, as well as your throat, heart, and your body in general.

2.　What are the healthy/standard levels for people to be healthy?

In order for people to live healthy lives, the following density standards of PM2.5 particles in air are recommended: Yearly average:

less than 15μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre of air)
Daily average: less than 35μg/m3

3.　What can I do myself?

When daily levels of PM2.5 exceed 70μg/m3, try to do the following:
・　Try to stay indoors as much as possible
・　Try to limit the amount of time spent outdoors, doing exercise, etc
・　Try to limit the number of times you open the doors and windows of your house/room
・　The elderly, young children, and those people with lung, throat, nose, or respiratory problems are more at risk on days with levels of PM2.5 higher than 70μg/m3, so these people should take extra care.

4．How can we know what the levels of PM2.5 are?

You can view the current levels of PM2.5 on Kyoto Prefecture’s website. If the levels are forecasted to exceed 70μg/m3, an advisory will be issued on the website and through media institutions.

http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/taiki/1111111.html   (Japanese)

On the webpage linked to above, if you click on the “日平均値（直近１週間）” link (about halfway down the page), you can view regional measurements of PM2.5. (This is currently only available in Japanese)

PM2.5