Photo/Illutration The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare building in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Health authorities are sounding the alarm over influenza after the average number of cases per medical institution topped the warning level at a pace second only to the epidemic in 2009.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on Dec. 15 said the number of new influenza cases reported from Dec. 4 to Dec. 10 at around 5,000 designated medical institutions nationwide came to 166,690. The figure is 1.26 times higher than the previous week’s number.

The national average per institution was 33.72 cases, surpassing the benchmark 30 cases for “alert level” for the first time this season, indicating the suspected occurrence or continuation of a major outbreak.

Officials said the alert level number nationwide was reached for the first time since the 2018-2019 season, before the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Typically, the alert level is reached in January or February. Current figures exceeded the alert level at a speed second only to the crisis outbreak in 2009.

The number of cases increased in all prefectures compared to the previous week, with 33 prefectures surpassing the alert level.

In a typical year, influenza outbreaks tend to subside by spring, but this season represents a continuation of the outbreak that flared in December last year, officials said.

The number of cases had already exceeded the caution level of 10 in October.

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