On July 17th, local time, the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Medical Bureau in Japan issued a notice announcing two cases of mass food poisoning.
The first incident occurred from July 8th to 10th. A kindergarten in Hachioji reported that 64 people showed symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal pain. The ages ranged from 1 year to 61 years, including 59 children and 5 staff members. One child was hospitalized.
According to investigations conducted by the Health Center of Hachioji City, the food poisoning in this incident was caused by Escherichia coli. This bacterium is similar to Escherichia coli. The patients fell ill due to consuming meals served on July 7th and 8th at the kindergarten cafeteria.
Eight-Prince City Public Health Center decided on July 17th, to suspend the kindergarten for three days.
The kindergarten’s menu indicates that the lunch on the 7th included green soybeans with corn rice, meat patties, stewed vegetables for summer, potato salad, and melons. The lunch on the 8th consisted of calcium-rich mixed grain rice, seasoned bluefish, stewed potatoes with meat, salad, and bananas.
In the second incident, on June 29th and 30th, 39 people who had eaten bento at a restaurant in Yoyogi, Shibuya District, Tokyo, experienced symptoms such as diarrhea and fever. The ages of these people ranged from 23 to 59 years old. Among them, 27 people sought medical attention.
Sessue Ward Health Center investigated and determined that 28 people tested positive for norovirus. The restaurant was ordered to close for 7 days starting from July 17th.
According to information on the website of the Gifu Prefectural Government in Japan on the 18th, on July 17th, 74 people experienced symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting after consuming a Japanese-style meal at a hotel in Gassan City. Nine of them were hospitalized.
This incident was identified as a food poisoning case. The source of the harmful food and the pathogen are still under investigation. The local health department has issued a closure order for the involved hotel, which will take effect on July 18th.
