A vomiting virus outbreak has left more than 8,400 German school children ill with vomiting and diarrhea after eating food from school cafeterias and daycare centers.
The European country's health ministers said that children from five of Germany's 16 states have been left affected by this vomiting virus outbreak, according to Reuters. Laboratory investigations are still underway to determine the exact cause of the outbreak.
"All the institutions which have registered cases of the illness so far are probably being provided by the same caterer," wrote the Robert Koch Institute, which researches and advises the German health ministry on infectious diseases. "This suggests that it is an outbreak caused by food."
The cause of the gastroenteritis cases is believed to be from a single source. The vomiting virus outbreak is thought to be caused by a norovirus that presents as a water or food-borne illness.
According to Berlin's health department, most children affected by this vomiting virus outbreak are recovering within two days without requiring hospitalization.
