Word is in that Swine Flu has finally hit the island, and in fact someone in the second grade of the elementary school at which I am teaching two days this week contracted the disease.  Twenty students are or have gone absent today, 13 from fever or influenza and 7 for various reasons.  The whole second grade, in an effort to curb the spread, are on holiday from tomorrow until Friday.

As a precaution, I’m wearing a sanitary mask provided by the school nurse, along with a number of other teachers.  During my first class I think I suffered a mosquito bite, though, so I’m a little worried I might catch it from that.  It wouldn’t bother me so much to take the sick leave, but I certainly would rather be healthy at work.

The news media in Japan have been repeatedly sensationalist, or have nothing better to report, regarding H1N1.  For a while updates seemed to be front page news almost every day, or so I hear.  Back when it first started spreading through Mexico and the States, people taking trips to infected nations were required to go through quarantine and report back twice a day to local health officials, as the nearest other ALT experienced, while interestingly enough coming back from Southeast Asia I didn’t.

For a country that doesn’t properly heat its schools during the winter and seems to treat resulting cold and flu cases as immune system- and character-building, it’s strange to see them freak out to this extent for a new but easily cured infection. Clearly it has proper medical care to facilitate it.