A blood collection corner set up at a temporary testing site in Tokyo on March 3 in Kabukicho, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
In response to the epidemic of the sexually transmitted disease “syphilis” mainly among young people, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government conducted a temporary examination for women only at Miyako Health Plaza Hygeia in Kabukicho, Shinjuku Ward on the 3rd. The test is free, anonymous, and the results are available on the same day, so the 40 test slots are full. Temporary inspections are planned for Sumida Ward, Tachikawa City, and Tama City by the end of this month, but Governor Yuriko Koike said at a press conference on the 3rd that “reservations are being made at a rate that exceeds capacity,” and inspections in Shinjuku Ward will be postponed to three. announced that it will add more days.
At the venue in Shinjuku Ward, which was opened to the public by the metropolitan government, a nurse took a blood sample and a laboratory technician made a judgment. The doctor notified the patient of the test results. Health centers in Tokyo are also free to take tests, but it takes more than a week to find out the results. At the temporary venue, it takes 30 to 40 minutes from blood sampling to notification.
In 2012, there were 297 people with syphilis in Tokyo, but last year the number surged to 3,677, a record high. Itaru Nishizuka, director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health’s Infectious Disease Control Department, said, “It’s called a ‘creeping infectious disease,’ and it doesn’t cause itching or pain, and following a few years, abnormalities in the brain and heart may appear.”
All temporary venues in Tokyo have a capacity of 40 people, and advance reservations are required. Governor Koike said, “Early treatment will lead to a solution. Please take this opportunity to get tested.” (Chisato Miyake)
