Today’Sound Waves　May 2, 2009 20:00~21:00　Presented by: Bernard Farrell
～Swine Flu～
In today’s Sound Waves, I talked mainly about Swine Flu.
After a brief introduction and talk about the Golden Week holiday
I read message from Hyogo Prefecture Governor, Toshizo Iido,
on Swine Flu followed by list of consultation desks and public health offices and their telephone numbers
where people in the Prefecture can make enquiries about Swine Flu.
Unfortunately, this consultation service is in Japanese only.
If a foreign person needs to use the service, they will need to have the assistance of someone who speaks Japanese.
However, Hyogo Prefecture does post updated information in various languages on the Hyogo
International Association’s (HIA) English website. The URL is:http://www.hyogo-ip.or.jp/en/index.htm

I then went through the useful and interesting BBC News Q&A advice on Swine Flu. While I do recommend foreign listeners to check the Internet to get information on the new influenza, I also recommend them to try to find out what is happening in Japan and what contingency plans local authorities have should a serious outbreak occur. It is also important to know what you should do if you become infected. Do, not go directly to a clinic or hospital. You should first contact a public health office, as mentioned above, or one of the special consultation desks set up for enquiries. Some of these are operating on a 24-hour basis, and most of them are in Japanese only.
I also introduced what foodstuffs and daily necessities one should stock to be prepared should a serious outbreak occur or if a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, occurs. I used the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor’s guides for this information. I don’t think it is necessary to go out and start stockpiling, but I do recommend our listeners to always have a reasonable stock of food, liquids and important daily necessities. You never know when a disaster, such as an earthquake will happen. We didn’t when the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake hit on January 17, 1995.
Finally, I recommended all our listeners to get accurate information and listen to and read the details, don’t panic and don’t be swayed by rumors, etc. We still don’t know a lot about this Swine Flu.
Personal hygiene is very important to protect both yourself and others, and keep risks to a minimum.