Budapest (dpa) - A rare virus strain was behind a mysterious
outbreak of poisoning that saw dozens of children rushed to hospital
from a Hungarian holiday camp, medical officials said Wednesday.
A week after the outbreak, a hitherto little-known strain of
calicivirus - a common source of food poisoning - was identified in
lab tests, the local medical officer told the state news agency MTI.
"This rare strain of the virus did not even feature in the routine
tests," Laszlo Bujdoso said.
Children at the camp on Balaton, a popular resort lake in central
Hungary, began suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting and fever on July
6.
By the following day, 44 had been transferred from the town of
Kaptalanfured to nearby hospitals.
Most of the children recovered within a few days, but with initial
tests for known bacteria and viruses drawing a blank, the cause of
their illness was until now a mystery.
Copyright 2011 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH