Since then, another group, the National Children's Medical Research Center, has recorded 500 cases of infection every year. So, apparently, does most of the medical community. Newspaper editorials complained last week that too many young researchers in Japan aspire to the cutting edge of science, studying subjects like DNA recombination and searching for cancer cures. Those who specialize in infectious disease receive high marks from their counterparts at Atlanta's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But they are few, and information in the field is hard to come by in Japan.
Doctors get it from newspapers or television.
The directive has not yet been implemented. Last week, belatedly, Japan confronted the implications of the O157 epidemic with full force. Swimming pools in afflicted areas were closed, and some summer festivals were canceled. As consumers made a run on disinfectants, supermarket chains suspended sales of certain beef products. Prime Minister Hashimoto's Cabinet ordered inspections of all slaughterhouses and meat-packing plants, and local health centers were offering free testing of blood and stool samples.