``I want to go see cherry blossoms''...Infectious disease with 30% fatality rate spreads in Japan, travelers are ``anxious'' = South Korea

``I was planning to travel to Japan to coincide with the cherry blossom season, but due to an infectious disease, I canceled.'' Office worker Lee Joo-yoon, 31, said he was planning to travel to Japan when Japan's cherry blossoms begin blooming in mid-March.
Although he took a vacation in time, he suddenly changed his destination to Cheju Island. This is because I heard that an infectious disease with a mortality rate of 30% is spreading rapidly in Japan. What kind of infectious disease is it?
Anxiety is growing, especially at tourist cafes, about the outbreak of a disease in which it is unclear who is most likely to be infected. According to local reports in Japan on the 21st, fulminant hemolytic streptococcal infections (STSS) were reported in Japan.
) infection cases are increasing. STSS is a disease that is transmitted to humans by a bacterium called Streptococcus pyogenes. A total of 378 cases of STSS infection were recorded between January and February this year. child
This is more than one-third of the number of cases last year (941 cases). Comparing the rate of infection, the rate of spread is 4.8 times faster than last year. The infected areas are all over Japan. All but 2 of the 47 prefectures
This is because there were infected people in all areas. Streptococcus pyogenes is known to be transmitted through droplets, physical contact, and wounds on hands and feet. Infected people have a high fever, sore throat, red eyes, diarrhea and
The patient complains of pain and muscle pain, and sometimes becomes confused. It is highly contagious and has a maximum fatality rate of 30%. In Japan, those under the age of 50 who were diagnosed with STSS between July and December of last year.
Of the 65 patients, 21 died. Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) said, ``It is unclear why it spreads so quickly.''
At a Korean traveler's cafe, people say, ``I'm going on a trip to Fukuoka next week, so I'm worried about infectious diseases,'' and ``The mortality rate is 30%.''
Posts such as ``It's an infectious disease, is it okay to go?'' can be seen. However, some travelers have responded with comments such as ``It's not really causing a fuss in Japan'' and ``The number of infected people is not that high.''
It will be done. Local experts explain that as the danger of the COVID-19 virus has decreased to the level of common influenza, vigilance regarding epidemic prevention has weakened, and the number of STSS patients in Japan has increased sharply.
There is also. Looking ahead based on the numbers at the beginning of the year, the number of infected people in 2024 is expected to break a new record and greatly exceed last year's record.
In response to this, the Japanese government has also emphasized the need for South Korean tourists to be careful.
Ru. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, of the foreigners who visited Japan last month, 818,500 were Koreans, accounting for 29.4% of the total. Taiwan ranks second in number of Korean tourists (500,000
(2,200 people), far exceeding third place China (459,400 people). The number of Koreans who visited Japan in the past year was 6.96 million, the highest number among foreign visitors to Japan (25.07 million).
Recorded.