K-pop fans, fearing the flu, ask agencies to cancel their tours in Japan – INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily



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Fearing the flu, K-pop fans ask agencies to cancel their tours in Japan

Jan 28, 1919

According to reports, more than 2 million Japanese have contracted the flu, prompting K-pop agencies to cancel upcoming concerts in Japan to preserve the health of artists.

"Please delay their concerts in Japan because a serious illness is [spreading through] Japan, "wrote a Twitter user on Sunday.

The user has uploaded a photo of the EXID girls group, as well as a hashtag in Korean stating: "All agencies cancel trips to Japan."

The group will travel to the Japanese cities of Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Tokyo from February 10 to 16, where they will perform their new Japanese song "Trouble".

The hashtag was used by hundreds of users on Twitter on Sunday, including fans of the sensational KTS-pop BTS group. The boys' group performs in Fukuoka on February 16th and 17th.

"I hope, for the sake of all the idol groups, that all the agencies will cancel their visits to Japan," wrote a user with a pseudonym beginning with "With_BTS" on Twitter on Sunday.

"They say the flu this year is worse than the ones we've had every year."

The hubbub has also left residents wondering if they should cancel their next trips to Japan.

"We have a whole week in Japan for the Lunar New Year holidays," said a 43-year-old office worker in Anyang, Gyeonggi Prefecture, nicknamed Jeong.

"I go with my parents, who are 70 years old, my wife and our two young children. But after seeing the latest news, I seriously consider canceling the trip completely. "

Local media in Japan have reported the strange behavior of flu patients, including that of a woman in her 30s who would have fallen in the footsteps of a subway station. from Tokyo and died on Tuesday. She had been diagnosed earlier with the flu.

In Korea, a schoolgirl from Busan, who has the flu, died in December after taking Tamiflu, a popular anti-flu medicine. This has sparked public fear of the strange effects of the flu or its medications.

The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the flu was nothing extraordinary in Japan this season.

"The magnitude of the flu in Japan is not very serious compared to that of previous winters," said Park Ock, chief of the KCDC's Bureau of Infectious Diseases. "The flu virus hit Korea a little earlier. Japan is currently crossing the peak of the season.

"Usually, about 5 to 10% of the country's population can become infected during seasonal episodes of influenza," Park said. "So, in Korea, we would expect to have about 2.5 million to 5 million people infected at some point. Japan, which has a larger population than Korea, can of course have a higher patient population. "

Park also said that flu types in Japan did not differ from those in Korea.

"Most patients in Japan are infected with the H1N1 or H3N2 type, which is what most patients in Korea are infected anyway," said Park.

"For those traveling to Japan, be sure to wash your hands as often as possible. I would also recommend getting vaccinated, but it's too late for those traveling on Lunar New Year, as the antibodies will begin to form two weeks after the vaccine. Nevertheless, this will help them to remain vaccinated during the remainder of the influenza season, which extends until the spring. "

Park said that the strange behavior phenomenon of influenza patients was not new.

"We have already had reports of strange behaviors in flu patients around the world," said Park. "But these cases are very few."

"Some studies in Japan suggest that the flu virus could cause inflammation of the brain, which could lead to strange behavior," said Lee Jae-gap, doctor of infectious diseases at Hallym University Medical Center, west of Seoul. "But no study has yet been able to determine the exact cause of this erratic behavior."

BY LEE ESTHER [[email protected]]

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