ANSAN, South Korea, June 25 (Yonhap) — About 100 pupils at a kindergarten in Ansan, just south of Seoul, have complained of food poisoning symptoms over the past week, with a fifth of them hospitalized for hamburger disease and other disorders, municipal health officials said Thursday.
According to the officials in Ansan, 50 kilometers south of the capital, 99 out of 184 children attending the unidentified kindergarten showed symptoms of food poisoning from June 16 to Monday, and 22 of them were sent to hospitals.
Some of them are reportedly showing signs of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), also known as hamburger disease, which could cause severe kidney failure, they noted, adding doctors raised the possibility of hamburger disease among some ailing students.
The number of patients has been increasing since four children complained of stomachaches on June 16. By June 17, 10 pupils exhibited symptoms of stomachache and diarrhea.
Authorities have found hemorrhaging E. coli bacteria in samples taken from about 30 pupils. HUS is one of the complications caused by E. coli bacteria.
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