Swine Flu

I don't know if the U.S. is bothering to post about Swine Flu in other countries these days, but it did manage to arrive in Japan. We had our first confirmed case on Friday, and as of today, there are 170 confirmed cases. Oh - and not just Japan in general, Kobe and Osaka, specifically.

Now, Japan is way more on guard, it seems, for infectious disease than the U.S. Long before Swine Flu was in the news, there were signs in the public transportation warning people to wear masks if they get sick, wash their hands and gargle regularly. In a country where so many people live so close together, I imagine there is more concern about illness - especially the kinds that spreads quickly.

As soon as the first information (however misleading) about Swine Flu came out, my students and coworkers knew about it. In fact, I found out from a student whose mother was concerned that maybe it wasn't safe to do a travel abroad to the U.S. this year. We assured her, and other students/parents that we would keep an eye on the situation, but that the travel abroad group didn"t leave for quite a while yet, so there was no need to worry.

Then Swine Flu (or H1N1 as I should call it - because, if you haven't heard yet, it has NOTHING to do with pigs) found its way to Kobe. Some students and a teacher were coming back from Canada, got through quarantine at the airport, and then developed symptoms. It is not clear if they were the start of all the spread (they were caught pretty quickly) but somehow the virus spread and now its anybody's guess whether it can be contained or not. I have to say, though, if any country in the world is capable of getting ahead of a disease, I think Japan may be the place.

So here's where the cultural immersion really begins.

I came home from grocery shopping on Saturday, and Russell greeted me at the door with a "do you want the good news or the bad news" question. Well, bad, of course. Get it over with. So he tells me that Swine Flue came to Kobe. Okay - I wasn't really worried. By this time I was well aware that it was just a slightly more interesting version of the regular flu, and not something that was going to cause widespread tragedy. The good news, was that I got a week off of school. When I went to confirm this with coworkers, it turned out that only the students got a week off of school, but teacher could report in an hour later than normal.

Sunday before I had to go back to work, I went down the the supermarket to get groceries. I was slightly annoyed at Russell because he wouldn't come with me. He had caught my cold from earlier in the week and even though he seemed to be on the mend, he decided he didn't want to go to the store. It was probably a good choice. EVERYONE was wearing a white mask when I got there. (Except me, of course.) The white masks had been a small presence since we had arrived due to allergies (most people opt for wearing masks instead of taking medication), but there had been a serious increase in usage since I had last been out. Word had definitely spread. There were also long lines of people stocking up (which is not the traditional way to grocery shop in Japan - you usually just buy what you need for the meal - maybe two meals. I got my groceries quickly and ran home.

The next day I walked in to work. I was already planning to walk most of the way for exercise, but Russell talked me into walking the whole way to avoid public transportation. When I got to work I tried to go through the back door I am used to using, but it was locked. Some coworkers signaled for me to go downstairs to get in. This wasn't all that unusual. On the weekends, the security guards often only leave first floor doors open so they can keep a better eye on who goes in and out. I went downstairs and unlocked the door with my security card - but the door still wouldn't open. I tried again, and about that time my boss walked by and signaled for me to use the door by the office. I went down there, and there was a table set up with hand sanitizer. I used the sanitizer and entered the building. All of the office workers were there, but, of course, no students. I went up to my office and spent some time talking everything over with my coworkers.

It turns out, the hospital that is right next to the train stop for our school was one of the quarantine sites for people who had high fever to go. The only way for a person with a high fever to get to the hospital is either by taxi or by the train - the same train that all our students would be using. So the powers that be decided we should follow the example of the public schools and shut down. All of the universities made the same decision, from what I could tell. I was kind of glad I walked - I wasn't worried about meeting an untimely end, but I had already had my cold for the season, I don't need to catch anything new - especially something that would land me in quarantine.

We spent the day at work divvying up assignments, making sure all our projects were still getting done, and then we went home for the week, too. Most of my Japanese colleagues are convinced this will extend past the week. It will be interesting to see.

So I walked all the way home again. I did stop in at a convenience store to get a mask - not because I'm worried about getting the flu, but because I felt like I was making other people nervous - a foreigner walking around with no mask. I haven't been able to bring myself to wear it publicly yet. My neighborhood seems relatively relaxed about the mask wearing - maybe only 50% are wearing a mask - but if I start to feel awkward without one, I can put it on.

My first reaction to all of this fear was that it was silly. The regular flu kills people too, this is nothing overly concerning. As I thought about it, though, my reaction was mostly due to my own sense of well being. I don't feel threatened because I'm in perfectly good health and I am fully confident I would fight it off and be fine again. Based on my own safety - and the safety of most of the students, canceling school seems more than a bit overboard. On the other hand, even the regular flu is dangerous for people with pre-existing medical conditions - and as I mentioned before, there are an awful lot of people here in close proximity. If no precautions were taken, I am sure it would spread to thousands of people very quickly, and there inevitably would be deaths. All of this overreaction may just be a political ploy to show that the government is willing to act for the people, but when I think about it in terms of protecting other people's safety, it doesn't annoy me anymore.

Plus, an extra week or two hanging around home ain't so bad either.

Update: Sorry if I was unclear, but I am NOT sick now. Russell seems to be fully recovered today, too. We are both totally healthy - thank you to anyone who was concerned.