• Coughs can have various causes.
• If you have symptoms such as a prolonged cough, blood in your phlegm, low-grade fever, weight loss, or listlessness, it may be tuberculosis. In that case, you should be examined by a doctor immediately.
• When COVID-19 is spreading, think about getting tested soon, such as being seen at a hospital.
COVID-19 and tuberculosis both cause coughs, shortness of breath, fever, and listlessness.The biggest difference is the speed of progression of the disease. With tuberculosis, only one or two people for every ten people infected develop symptoms, and it often takes from several months to around two years for symptoms to become apparent.However, with COVID-19, symptoms start within a few days of infection. In both cases, once symptoms appear, be quick to get tested and be seen at a hospital.
Infectious Diseases
There are some diseases, known as “infectious diseases,” that you can catch from somebody or pass onto other people without knowing it.
This section explains about the infectious diseases of tuberculosis and HIV.
It also explains about public health crises such as COVID-19.
Your privacy at the hospital will be protected.
2. 1. I have a bad cough. What kind of illness might I have?
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Did this information help? 2. 2. What will happen if I am diagnosed with tuberculosis?
• Tuberculosis is a disease that can be cured with medicine.There is assistance for 95% of medical expenses from public funds.
You will only have to pay 5% of your medical expenses
• Be sure to comply with the instructions of the doctors at the hospital.
If your symptoms are mild, once you start treatment,
you will be able to work normally while being treated as an outpatient.
There is no need for you to go home to your country.
If your symptoms are severe,
you may need to be hospitalized temporarily.
The usual duration of treatment is six months, but it can be longer.
With tuberculosis of the lungs, you may infect other people, but usually, about two weeks after you start treatment, you will no longer be contagious.
There are also types of tuberculosis (called latent tuberculosis) that have no symptoms and that there is no possibility of infecting others.
Tuberculosis is a disease that can be cured with the right treatment. If you are not emitting the bacteria from your body and you are receiving the correct treatment, in many cases, you will be able to keep working without infecting other people. Also, the public office will investigate close contacts of people who have been diagnosed with tuberculosis, so please cooperate with these investigations.
[List of Consulting Services]
[Tuberculosis]
Tuberculosis Telephone Consultation Service of The Research Institute of Tuberculosis Department of Programme Support Vietnamese Tuberculosis Telephone Consultation Service Tel: 03-3292-1219 (Every Tuesday, 10:00 – 15:00)
03-3292-1219 (consultation in Vietnamese)
03-3292-1219 (consultation in Vietnamese)
Both services are free, and your privacy will be protected.
Find out more!
Osaka / Tuberculosis (English)
2. 3. I am worried that I might have contracted HIV.
If you are worried that you might have contracted HIV, get tested as soon as possible You can also be tested for free at a public health office.
2. 4. What should I do if I am diagnosed with HIV?
Currently, if you start treatment for HIV as soon as possible, you should be able to live your life in almost the same way as before you contracted it.
Even if your HIV test is positive, as long as you continue treatment properly and maintain your health, you will not lose your job and your visa status will not be affected.
Find out more!
Introducing a Vietnamese telephone consultation channel and HIV testing locations.
HIV is a disease that is not easily transmitted other than by sexual contact.Just because you have learned that you have HIV, you do not need to make sudden changes to your lifestyle and involvement with the people around you.
There is no need to inform the people around you of your test results. However, you should inform any sexual partners.
If you are being treated for HIV in Japan, HIV medicines are very expensive.You can apply for assistance with medical expenses for costs that are not covered by health insurance.
Applying for assistance requires detailed test data and complicated procedures, so if you do not understand, consult a hospital that specializes in HIV or an NPO.
You will receive an explanation at the hospital where you were diagnosed, so be sure you have a good understanding before undergoing treatment.
[Detailed Information in Japanese]
2. 5. I have heard that a certain infectious disease is spreading in Japan, and I am worried about going there. Where can I obtain information and plan what action to take?
Check the information at the public health office, foreign ministry, and embassy in the individual countries.
It is important to have a routine interest in news about Japan and to gather the latest information. However, because there is a lot of wrong information, first refer to information from public organizations.
Diseases that are prone to outbreaks in Japan include measles, rubella, and influenza, which can all be prevented with vaccines.
If you have any worrying symptoms, go to a clinic or hospital nearby ➡ “How to receive a medical consultation”
[Reference Information]
Find out more!
What is a public health state of emergency?
As you all experienced with the COVID-19 pandemic, amid the progress of globalization, public health emergencies have become a major problem both nationally and globally.Public health emergencies can cause outbreaks of disease, natural disasters, serious injury to people, and loss of life.A certain situation will become a state of emergency when society is no longer functioning well enough to take countermeasures against the situation’s impact on health.
The following are some examples.
• Outbreaks of infectious disease; influenza pandemic, measles, avian influenza, COVID-19, etc.
• Natural disasters’ impact on health: earthquake, tsunami, flood, typhoon, etc.
• Accidents that cause many casualties: Airplane crash, train derailment, etc.
• In Japan, outbreaks (increase in the number of people infected) of measles, rubella, and influenza have been reported. When there is an outbreak, measures to prevent infection (washing hands, wearing masks, etc.) and vaccines are beneficial.
Regarding influenza, there are outbreaks every winter in Japan, so in some cases, the company may subsidize the cost of influenza vaccination.
If a public health emergency occurs, it is important to gather information from the Japanese government, local governments, news, and other sources.
