The Osaka Prefectural Government is working to contain an outbreak of measles at a management company at Kansai International Airport that began about one month ago, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Sept. 3).
A total of 31 employees of Kansai Airports have been confirmed to have the virus, which developed last month during the busy Obon holiday period – a time when the airport received roughly 60,000 passengers per day.
“Special attention at Kansai International Airport is needed since it is a major gateway for Japan,” a government official is quoted.
In a statement issued on August 31, Kansai Airports said that it was working with the Izumi Sano Health Office in Osaka in order to ensure prevent the spread of the virus.
“Kansai Airports notified its employees yesterday that if they are exhibiting symptoms they should not come to work,” the company said in the statement. A special hotline set up by the company received more than 260 inquiries over a two-day period.
On August 19, a hospital in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture confirmed a man, 19, who attended a performance by Justin Bieber at Makuhari Messe on August 14 had contracted measles. Four members of the man’s family have also been confirmed to have the virus.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the man used Kansai International Airport to travel overseas on July 31. The man is believed to exposed a female employee of Kansai Airports to the virus. She then spread it to 30 other persons within the company.
Two other persons using the airport that day are believed to have contracted measles via the man. As well, two persons at the Justin Bieber concert likely received the virus from the man.
By the morning of August 31, Kansai Airports had confirmed 16 employees had measles.
Source: Tokyo Reporter Image: NHK
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