世論 What Japan Thinks

At the end of November and start of December DIMSDRIVE Research surveyed 6,459 people, 2,709 of them male, by means of an internet-based questionnaire to find out what they thought of influenza and related topics. The age breakdown was 1.3% 19 or under, 18.0% in their twenties, 36.8% in their thirties, 27.1% in their forties, 12.4% in their fifties and 4.4% sixty and over.

Last year there was quite a bit of bird flu in some of the chicken batteries, but as far as I am aware there was no transmission to humans. At that point there was a knock-on effect on chicken and egg consumption, but now the bird flu news is all from overseas, so I suspect no-one is connecting it with food yet. As can be seen below, the Japanese a big fans of gargling, and indeed in a couple of the buildings of the company I work for there are strategically-placed iodine-laced water fountains for gargling. However, the effectiveness of gargling with iodine has been questioned by another study, although note that it does point out that it was not double-blinded.

Just this lunchtime, however, I did see a kid in my local bread shop, with his head at just the right height to sneeze over the bread on display coughing away, without a word from him mother. Covering one’s mouth with one’s hand when coughing is not really that popular.

Q1: When was the last time you caught the flu? (Sample size=6,459)

After October 2005	1.3%
Between last year and September this year	12.3%
2 or 3 years ago	14.2%
4 or 5 years ago	6.6%
6 to 9 years ago	4.5%
10 or more years ago	7.3%
Don’t know or can’t remember	25.7%
Never had flu	28.1%

Looking at the age breakdown, over 2 in 5 of the women over 50 had never had the flu versus 36.% for teenage girls; 3 in 10 men over sixty had never, versus just over 2 in 10 for those between twenty and sixty.

Q2: What measures do you take to prevent catching the flu? (Sample size=6,459, multiple answer)

Wash hands	72.5%
Gargle	69.4%
Get enough sleep	39.2%
Eat nutritious food	31.2%
Avoid crowds	24.9%
Maintain room humidity	23.4%
Frequently ventilate room	21.2%
Get vaccinated	21.2%
Wear a mask	15.3%
Wear thick clothing	10.2%
Take exercise	10.2%
Other	1.0%
Nothing	12.6%

Q3: Have you been innoculated against influenza? (Sample size=6,459)

Every year	12.1%
Not every year	45.6%
Never	42.3%

Those over 60 are between two and three times more likely to get a shot every year, and only one in four men in their twenties have never had a flu shot.

Q4: Do you plan to get innoculated against influenza this year? (Sample size=6,459)

Already received a shot	14.7%
Plan to get one	14.1%
No plan to get one	51.2%
Don’t know	20.0%

The over sixty age group again has the highest number already vaccinated, but teenage boys have almost triple the average planning to get one. Taking the results here in conjunction with the answers to Q3, only 7.3% of those who have never had a jag plan to get one, versus 75.4% of the annual people having already got theirs.

Q5: Do you know about the flu treatment drug Tamiflu? (Sample size=6,459)

I know what it is	47.3%
I’ve just heard the name	43.3%
Never heard of it or don’t know	9.4%

After reading a short passage describing how to take Tamiflu and warnings about possible side-effects, the following question was asked.

Q6: There has been news about side-effects from Tamiflu, but if you caught influenza and were prescribed Tamiflu, would you take it? (Sample size=6,459)

Yes	44.1%
No	20.8%
Don’t know	35.1%

With the men, there was little variation by age, but only 25.5% of women over sixty said they would take Tamiflu, and 29.4% would refuse. Cross-referencing with the answers to Q5, almost three in five who knew about Tamiflu would take it versus less than one in five of those who knew nothing.

Q7: It is said that bird influenza can be passed from human to human, and there is the risk of an epidemic. How uneasy do you feel about this? (Sample size=6,459)

Extremely uneasy	35.7%
Rather uneasy	50.6%
Not really uneasy	9.8%
Not uneasy at all	1.3%
Don’t know	2.6%

Q8: All around the country there are insufficient stocks of Tamiflu. How uneasy do you feel about this? (Sample size=6,459)

Extremely uneasy	22.5%
Rather uneasy	45.1%
Not really uneasy	21.0%
Not uneasy at all	3.9%
Don’t know	7.5%

Across all age groups, women had the similar level of unease, but in the case of men, the percentage of people uneasy steadily increased, from just of half of all teenagers to almost three-quarters of all over sixty expressing some degree of concern about stocks of Tamiflu.

Q9: Knowing that bird flu may be passed to humans, how has your frequency of purchase of chicken and eggs changed? (Sample size=6,459)

Increased	0.6%
Decreased	9.3%
Unchanged	88.2%
Didn’t and don’t eat chicken and eggs	1.0%
Didn’t know bird flu could be passed to humans	0.9%

That question is missing an option for “I don’t believe avian flu can be transmitted via chicken or eggs”, I feel.