Mask-wearing de rigeur as flu spreads in Japan

Tue May 19, 2009 5:43am BST

By Isabel Reynolds

TOKYO (Reuters) - It was everywhere in western Japan on Tuesday and is showing signs of spreading to heavily populated Tokyo -- not the new H1N1 flu virus, but the wearing of surgical face masks.

Disposable masks are recommended by the government for those who suspect they have been infected with the new strain of flu.

But many members of the public are wearing them in an effort to avoid getting infected themselves, though experts say cheap masks, as opposed to virus-proof types, offer little protection.

Senior Liberal Democratic Party official Hiroyuki Hosoda appeared at a news conference in a mask but peeled it off before speaking to reporters. Domestic media showed students on a guided tour of parliament wearing white masks and customers lining up outside stores to stock up on them.

Long popular with Japanese who want to avoid passing on a cold or breathing in allergenic pollen, masks have become an essential accessory in the western areas of Osaka and Hyogo prefecture, where more than 150 people have been infected.

Some businesses are ordering their employees, especially those who deal face-to-face with clients, to wear masks.

"I pick up passengers from the station," one taxi driver told broadcaster TBS. "It's a bit frightening in this enclosed space -- they might be infected without having developed a fever yet."

Another woman told broadcaster NHK she felt safer in a mask.

"A lot of people are wearing them. I think it's best to have one on as a means of prevention," she said.

The government is recommending people use masks as a way of reducing the spread of infection via droplets from coughs and sneezes, but puts the onus on those who are already infected.

"If you start to cough or sneeze, please use a mask," reads an advice section on the Health Ministry's website. "If someone in your family or at your workplace is coughing without a mask on, please urge them to wear one."

An official at the ministry emphasised the government was only recommending those with symptoms wear masks.

"Unless you are in a very crowded place, masks are not going to help much with prevention," he said. "We are not saying that people should always wear a mask when you go out, although it might help to wear one on a rush-hour train."

"We are certainly not saying that you'll be safe if you just put on a mask."

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Valerie Lee)