At a meeting of the government and the ruling coalition parties, Abe told Hakuo Yanagisawa, minister of health, labor and welfare, to fully cooperate with medical institutes, social welfare facilities and other organizations to curb the epidemic.

Some 3,000 medical institutions across Japan reported they had treated 65,638 infected patients between Nov. 27 and Dec. 3, according to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 23, 2006
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