The NPO Biomedical Science Association provided telephone consultation, including contacts by fax and email, targeting the general public within the framework of influenza control measures worked out by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW).
We received 2, 813 inquiries during the 2003-2004 flu season and 2, 444 inquiries during the 2004-2005 season. By month, the highest number was in October-November, accounting for 42.6%. The preceding season showed a similar trend.
By gender, 72.5% of those seeking advice were women. By area of residence, the highest number was living in metropolitan Tokyo, and the remainder lived in the prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Nagano, Shizuoka, and Ibaraki in this order. We received no inquiries from the prefectures of Shimane or Saga.By occupation, housewives accounted for 1, 114 inquiries (45.6%), followed by private companies with 447 inquiries (18.3%) and health-care providers with 227 inquiries (9.3%), similar to the 2003-2004 flu season. By subject, 1, 545 inquiries concerned vaccines (62.2%) mainly, the pros and cons of vaccination, adverse reactions, and the number of inoculations required. Inquiries about pregnancy, infants and young children, and breast-feeding accounted for 19.2%.
Inquiries on vaccine shortages during the 2004-2005 flu season (7), SARS (22), and bird flu (22) decreased compared to the previous season, while the number of consultations on antiviral agents increased (209).
In discussing how information on influenza should be communicated to the public, we propose that “Influenza Q & A” provided by the Infectious Diseases Surveillance Center of the NIID, MHLW, should include information on influenza specifically addressing pregnant woman and breast-feeding or child-rearing mothers.