Data released by the health ministry shows that the 2017-2018 flu season has begun. All parties concerned — the national and local governments, medical institutions and individuals — need to take preventive measures in earnest to help prevent the spread of the contagious respiratory disease. As part of such efforts, the health ministry should see to it that hospitals and clinics can secure all the flu vaccine they need since some of them have complained that it has been in short supply.

According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, some 5,000 medical institutions that are designated monitors of the situation reported visits by 7,280 people suffering from influenza from Nov. 20 to 26. The average of 1.47 patients per medical institution over the week exceeded the criterion for declaring the official start of the flu season, which is an average of one patient per medical institution. It is estimated that about 70,000 people visited hospitals and clinics nationwide for flu treatment during the same period, a significant increase over the estimated 40,000 people who had sought medical care the previous week.

Although this year's season began a week later than in 2016, when the start of the flu season was the second earliest since the ministry began collecting data in 1999, it is still a little earlier than average. The Nov. 20-26 period saw 94 people hospitalized for influenza at designated hospitals. Elderly people accounted for a large portion of the number, with 44 patients in their 70s and 80s. Since the fatality risk is higher for elderly patients, medical and welfare facilities need to take extra care to prevent the influx of the flu into their premises. If inpatients or residents at such facilities contract the flu, such facilities must take every possible step to contain the spread of the virus.