1998 Winter Olympics flu epidemic

1998 flu outbreak in Japan The 1998 Winter Olympics flu epidemic was a flu outbreak in Japan which coincided with the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. Several athletes blamed poor or disappointing results on this flu. The Outbreak During 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.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 35 5 512–517 10.1086/341407 1537-6591 12173123 Nearly 900,000 people became ill and at least 20 people, including 17 schoolchildren and three elderly people, died due to the flu virus.Sullivan Kevin 19 February 1998 THE FLU PLAGUES OLYMPICS https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/02/19/the-flu-plagues-olympics/2a2f2015-3951-4277-9061-381e95f56d45/?noredirect=on 27 May 2018 Washington Post During the Olympics The 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,Alexei Yagudin - 2010 Winter Olympics - Olympic Athletes - Vancouver, Canada http://www.espn.com/olympics/winter/2010/athletes/_/athlete/47380/alexei-yagudin ESPN.com 27 May 2018 Canadian figure skaters Elvis Stojko (who blamed his silver medal win on "groin pain and a brutal flu") and Marie-Claude Savard-Gagnon.Hawthorn Ainsley August 1, 2021 The last time the Olympics went viral https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/apocalypse-then-viral-olympics-1.6124714 CBC News References flu Category:1998 in Japanese sport Category:1998 disease outbreaks Category:1990s epidemics Category:Influenza pandemics Category:Disease outbreaks in Japan