まゆの部屋

More powers proposed for health centers



The Yomiuri Shimbun

The health ministry will change the way public heath centers are organized so they can better respond if the country is struck by an epidemic of unknown cause or a bioterrorism attack, officials said Sunday.

Prefectural governments will be able to use public health centers to respond to unidentified health hazards, order residents to undergo medical checkups at the centers and inspect related facilities, the officials said.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry also plans to incorporate an ordinance allowing governors and mayors to ask the central government to dispatch experts to help with inspections, the sources said.

The ministry plans to include the measures in a bill revising the local public health law to be submitted to next year's ordinary Diet session.

When health scares such as food poisoning and infectious diseases occur, public health centers in prefectures, major cities, core cities and special zones conduct inspections to find out the cause after being notified by medical organizations.

Under the current system, when food poisoning is suspected, public health centers can use the Food Hygiene Law to conduct compulsory inspections of facilities.

In the event of an epidemic, public health centers can act under the Infectious Disease Law and issue advisories asking residents to undergo medical checkups.

However, the law is ambiguous on whether public health centers can inspect facilities when an infectious disease outbreak is suspected, and their advisories to residents are not legally binding.

Furthermore, such advisories are issued only when there are sufficient grounds to suspect an infectious disease has broken out.