Japan Begins Monitoring Acute Respiratory Infections

   Tokyo, April 8 (Jiji Press)--Japan's health ministry has started monitoring acute respiratory infections, including cold symptoms, under the infectious diseases control law to detect unknown illnesses promptly.
   The ministry classified ARIs as Category V diseases under the law, the same status as COVID-19 and influenza, asking some 3,000 designated medical institutions across the country to report the number of ARI cases.
   The measure, based on the lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic, allows the ministry to keep an eye on a wide range of infectious diseases to spot unknown illnesses.
   ARIs are infectious diseases with respiratory symptoms, such as COVID-19 and influenza. They tend to spread through droplets or other means.
   Designated medical institutions report the weekly number of patients with such acute symptoms as coughing, sore throat and runny nose to local public health centers. Prefectural governments gather the data and send them to the health ministry.

(2025/04/08-18:18)