Tokyo, May 9 (IANS). More than 400 cases of measles have been reported in Japan since January. A national health research institute of the country gave this information.
According to the Japan Institute of Health Security, medical institutions nationwide reported 68 new cases of measles in the week to April 26, bringing the total this year to 436. In comparison, 96 cases were reported in the same period last year, whereas in the year 2025, a total of 265 cases were reported during the entire year.
Tokyo alone has recorded 211 cases this year, almost half of the national total. A total of more than 300 cases have been reported in the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area, which includes the neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama.
A notice issued by the institute in late April said the majority of measles patients in Japan this year were teenagers and people in their 20s. Nearly half of these people had not completed the recommended two-dose vaccination or their vaccination records were unclear.
The highest annual number of measles cases in Japan in the past decade was recorded in 2019, when a total of 744 cases were reported.
The institute warned that measles is a highly contagious disease and that people without immunity have a more than 90 percent chance of becoming infected if they come in contact with the virus. In severe cases, complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis may occur.
The World Health Organization declared Japan ‘measles-free’ in 2015. However, from the year 2023, measles cases are continuously increasing across the world, due to which the risk of infection coming from abroad has also increased.
The institute said that the most effective way to prevent measles infection and serious disease is to take both doses of the vaccine. Additionally, people traveling to countries or regions where measles is prevalent are advised to confirm their vaccination status before traveling.
People who develop symptoms such as fever, rashes, cough or redness in the eyes have been urged to contact medical institutions before going to hospital for treatment and to inform health workers about recent travel abroad or contact with an infected person.
–IANS
PM
