JAPAN, Dec 16, (Agencies): The Japanese government has officially announced that the average number of influenza patients at thousands of designated medical institutions nationwide has reached a warning level at the fastest rate in the past ten years.

According to media reports, approximately 166,690 cases of flu were recorded across approximately 5,000 medical facilities in Japan, averaging 33.72 individuals per facility for the week ending on December 10.

This surge in flu cases in Japan is a cause for concern, with the central government noting that the average number of influenza patients at designated medical institutions has exceeded the warning level of 30, as set by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases estimated that the total number of patients nationwide during the same period was around 1,118,000.

In a related study, it was discovered that a mere five-degree Celsius drop in temperature resulted in a significant reduction, by at least 50 percent, in the billions of virus and bacteria-fighting cells in the nostrils.

(Photo: courtesy by Reuters)