The federal government equipped antiviral drug Avigan from its stockpiles to Britain on Friday in response to a hantavirus outbreak, well being minister Kenichiro Ueno stated Monday.
Britain has accepted passengers from a cruise ship on which the outbreak occurred throughout a voyage within the Atlantic Ocean. They embody a Japanese nationwide.
In accordance with the ministry, the Japanese authorities equipped the drug on the request of the British authorities primarily based on a bilateral memorandum of understanding.
There is no such thing as a established treatment for hantavirus, however information from animal research signifies that Avigan might enhance survival charges of sufferers. The supply of the drug doesn’t have an effect on Japan’s Avigan stockpiles.
Ueno expressed gratitude to Britain for accommodating the Japanese nationwide on a chartered airplane and conducting well being observations for the individual within the nation. “We’ll proceed to work carefully with the worldwide neighborhood to forestall the unfold of infections,” he stated.
On the World Well being Group’s declaration of a public well being emergency of worldwide concern over Ebola outbreaks in Congo and Uganda, Ueno known as for the general public to reply calmly, saying, “At current, we imagine the danger of a home outbreak is low.”
