The number of people being treated for dysentery -- apparently after eating oysters -- has soared to 72 in 21 prefectures, mainly in western Japan, health authorities said Saturday.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said it started receiving reports of dysentery in Mie and Yamaguchi prefectures late last month, where a total of nine people were found to have contracted the disease after consuming oysters.
About 30 others reported eating oysters several days before developing symptoms of dysentery, including fever and diarrhea, local officials said.
Osaka Prefecture has logged 25 cases, Fukuoka Prefecture 11 and Saga Prefecture three, according to the ministry.
In addition, 16 other prefectures reported dysentery cases. They are Miyagi, Kanagawa, Niigata, Ishikawa, Fukui, Nagano, Shizuoka, Aichi, Hyogo, Shimane, Hiroshima, Tokushima, Ehime, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures.
The patients in Yamaguchi and Mie prefectures reportedly contracted dysentery after eating oysters shipped by two fisheries companies in Yamaguchi Prefecture, health officials said.