デング熱拡大 感染症の侵入に注意しよう

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Measures must be taken to prevent entry, spread of infectious diseases
デング熱拡大　感染症の侵入に注意しよう

The dengue fever virus has been spreading. Confirmation of domestic infections with the virus is the first in about 70 years. Caution is a must.
　デング熱の感染が広がっている。国内感染が確認されたのは約７０年ぶりだ。警戒を怠れない。

The infection seems to have spread when a person or persons infected with the virus overseas brought the virus to Japan and mosquitoes that had sucked the blood of those infected individuals went on to bite other people.
　海外でデング熱に感染した人がウイルスを国内に持ち込み、その感染者の血を吸った蚊が他の人を刺す。こうした経緯で感染が拡大したようだ。

The number of people infected with the virus has topped 50. All of them had visited Yoyogi Park in Tokyo or its environs. The virus has been detected in some of the mosquitoes caught in the park. The Tokyo metropolitan government, which administers the park, closed most of it on Thursday.
　感染者は５０人を超える。全員が東京・代々木公園や周辺を訪れていた。公園の蚊からウイルスが検出され、管理者の東京都は４日、公園の大部分を閉鎖した。

A disaster drill was conducted in the park Monday with about 2,000 people participating. At the time, the infection had already been reported. So we wonder whether the metropolitan government had full awareness of possible risks.
　１日には、２０００人規模の防災訓練が園内で実施されていた。当時、既に感染者は報告されていたが、東京都はリスクを十分認識していたのだろうか。

A mosquito’s range of activity is limited to a radius of 50 meters to 100 meters. The sites of infection may not go beyond the park’s environs, but guard should not be dropped. Extra caution must be taken until around late October when the mosquitoes disappear.
　蚊の活動範囲は半径５０～１００メートルだ。感染場所は公園周辺にとどまるが、油断はできない。蚊が消える１０月末頃までは要注意だ。

Those infected with dengue virus develop symptoms such as a fever of 38 C or more, headache and joint pain, similar to the symptoms of a cold. If one runs a high fever three to seven days after being bitten by a mosquito, it is important to visit a medical institution as soon as possible. The number of dengue patients reaches about 100 million a year in the world as neither a vaccine nor specific drug have yet been developed.
　デング熱は３８度以上の高熱や頭痛、関節痛など風邪に似た症状を示す。蚊に刺されて３～７日で高熱が出たら、速やかに受診することが重要だ。予防ワクチンや特効薬はなく、世界では毎年、約１億人の患者が発生している。

Excessive fear unnecessary

However, there is no need to be extremely fearful. This is because symptoms are developed by 10 percent to 50 percent of those infected with the dengue virus and a mere 1 percent to 5 percent of these patients suffer such serious conditions as melena or vomiting of blood. With adequate treatment, the fatality rate could be held to less than 1 percent even in serious cases.
　ただ、過度に恐れる必要はない。症状が表れるのは感染者の１０～５０％で、下血や吐血など重症化するのは、その１～５％だ。適切な治療をすれば、重症者でも致死率は１％未満に抑えられる。

The most effective preventive measure is to not be bitten by mosquitoes. We must protect ourselves by avoiding skin exposure and using insect repellent.
　蚊に刺されないことが最大の予防策だ。肌の露出を避け、虫よけスプレーなどで身を守りたい。

Japan sees about 200 cases annually in which people develop dengue fever after becoming infected with the virus in Southeast Asia or elsewhere and then returning home. It cannot be ruled out that domestic infections occurred in the past without being detected.
　東南アジアなどでデング熱に感染し、帰国後に発症する例は毎年２００件前後ある。過去にも、気づかないまま、国内感染が起きていた可能性も否定できない。

Tests for the dengue virus are usually conducted on people who complain of symptoms after returning from areas where infection is rampant. In the latest case, a patient with a fever happened to see a physician with knowledge of dengue fever, and this led to the discovery of other infected people one after another.
　デング熱の検査は通常、流行地から帰国し、症状を訴えた人にしか実施されない。今回はたまたま、デング熱の知識がある医師が、発熱した患者を検査したのを機に、感染者が次々と見つかった。

Early identification of infected patients is essential for prevention of further infection. It is necessary to alert physicians treating such patients about the disease.
　感染の拡大防止には、患者の早期発見が欠かせない。診察する医師への注意喚起が必要だ。

As international movements of people and goods have become more active today, the danger of various kinds of infectious diseases being brought into Japan from overseas has increased. West Nile fever and Chikungunya fever, which originate in tropical and subtropical areas and are transmitted by mosquitoes like dengue fever, have seen outbreaks in Europe and the United States as well.
　ヒトやモノの国際的な移動が極めて活発になった今日、様々な感染症が海外から持ち込まれる危険性が増えている。デング熱と同様、熱帯・亜熱帯を起源とし、蚊が媒介する西ナイル熱やチクングニア熱が欧米でも発生している。

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has been checking whether virus-carrying mosquitoes can be found in aircraft at airports as well as in port facilities.
　厚生労働省は、空港内の航空機や港湾施設などに、ウイルスを持つ蚊が潜んでいないかどうかをチェックしている。

There is a limit to what can be done to prevent viruses from crossing the national border. It is essential for local governments and health care centers to take measures such as catching mosquitoes regularly in an effort to keep a close watch against such viruses gaining a domestic foothold.
　水際での阻止には限界がある。自治体や保健所が定期的に蚊を捕獲するなど、ウイルスの国内侵入を監視することも大切だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 5, 2014)Speech