1967 Volume 41 Issue 9 Pages 331-336
An acute diarrheal disease with abdominal pain and fever occurred collectively among children of an elementary school in Tarui Town, Gifu prefecture in a period from May 6 to 8 in 1966. Some of the patients were initially treated under the diagnosis of bacillary dysentery, because of the presence of mucus and blood in their feces, while, some others were treated as food poisoning or common cold. They all recovered in a few days.
Persons having above clinical signs at that time were limited only to the school children and further secondary infections among school children or their families were not observed. No abnormalities were found in tap water in the school.
In bacteriological tests, E. coli 0-143: K×1 H-was isolated from the feces of 50 patients out of 95 patients tested. Thus, from clinical and epidemiological viewpoint, it was concluded that the outbreak was caused by this E. coli. Although its infectious route has not been made completely clear yet, supposed in great possibility to have been contaminated with this organism and responsible for the outbreak was school lunch served on May 4.
