The 1998 Winter Olympics flu epidemic was a flu outbreak that occurred during the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
The Outbreak
editDuring the winters of 1998 and 1999, there was an outbreak in Japan that appeared to be associated with influenza. Upon further research, the outbreak was discovered to be caused by Type A Influenza and the Japanese Encephalitis Virus.[1] Nearly 900,000 people became ill and at least 20 people, including 17 schoolchildren and three elderly people, died due to the flu virus.[2]
During the Olympics
editThe on February 9, 1998, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) warned competitors competing in the Winter Olympics abouts a strain of flu hitting the Japanese Alps region. The flu outbreak spread across Japan, with many schools across the country being closed. Then-Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's wife, Kumiko, was hospitalized with the virus. Many athletes were forced to either withdraw or give a subpar performance because of the flu, including Russian figure skater Alexei Yagudin,[3] Canadian figure skaters Elvis Stojko (who blamed his silver medal win on "groin pain and a brutal flu") and Marie-Claude Savard-Gagnon.[4]
References
edit- ^ Morishima, Tsuneo; Togashi, Takehiro; Yokota, Shyumpei; Okuno, Yoshinobu; Miyazaki, Chiaki; Tashiro, Masato; Okabe, Nobuhiko; Collaborative Study Group on Influenza-Associated Encephalopathy in Japan (2002-09-01). "Encephalitis and encephalopathy associated with an influenza epidemic in Japan". Clinical Infectious Diseases: An Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 35 (5): 512–517. doi:10.1086/341407. ISSN 1537-6591. PMID 12173123.
- ^ Sullivan, Kevin (19 February 1998). "THE FLU PLAGUES OLYMPICS". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- ^ "Alexei Yagudin - 2010 Winter Olympics - Olympic Athletes - Vancouver, Canada". ESPN.com. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- ^ Hawthorn, Ainsley (August 1, 2021). "The last time the Olympics went viral". CBC News.
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