Tokyo, March 26 : More than 600 students and staff members at multiple schools in Kumatori Town, Osaka have reported symptoms of food poisoning, public broadcaster NHK reported Thursday.

Students and staff members at eight elementary and junior high schools in the town have successively developed symptoms, including diarrhea and vomiting, since last Thursday. As of Tuesday, the total number of those affected reached 633, according to the report.

The local health center detected norovirus in some of the affected students. The same virus was also found in employees of a company that supplied bread for school lunches to all elementary and junior high schools in the town, Xinhua news agency reported.

Based on these findings, the public health centre determined that the outbreak was caused by food poisoning from bread served in school lunches and imposed a five-day business suspension on the related manufacturer.

Food poisoning, a type of foodborne illness, is a sickness people get from something they ate or drank. The causes are germs or other harmful things in the food or drink.

Symptoms of food poisoning often include upset stomach, loose stools and vomiting. Symptoms most often start within hours or days of eating the food.

Most people with food poisoning have mild illness and get better without treatment. But sometimes food poisoning causes serious illness or complications.

Symptoms of food poisoning, a type of foodborne illness, vary depending on what causes the illness. They may begin within hours or weeks, depending on the cause.

Common symptoms are: Upset stomach, vomiting, loose stools, sometimes bloody, stomach pain and cramps, and fever.

Infections that spread through food poisoning are contagious. When youâ??re infected, you can spread germs through tiny particles of vomit or poop. These particles can linger on surfaces or on your fingers. They can transfer to another person if they touch those surfaces, or if you touch their food. Food poisoning infections can spread fast in close quarters. They often spread in schools and cruise ships.

/IANS