BERLIN - German health authorities say at least 4,000 children have fallen ill with vomiting and diarrhea after eating food from school canteens and daycare centres.

The Robert Koch-Institut says it was alerted to a sudden surge in gastroenteritis cases that began late Tuesday in Berlin and surrounding regions.

The institute said in a statement late Thursday that laboratory investigations are under way to determine the exact cause of the outbreak.

But it says all facilities where the illness occurred likely received food from a single supplier, indicating it was a food-borne illness such as norovirus.

The norovirus is a common cause of food poisoning.

近日，德国发生一起严重的食物中毒事件，约4000名中小学生吃过学校提供的饭菜之后出现恶心、呕吐和腹泻等中毒症状。据称，引起食物中毒的是诺罗病毒（Noro），中毒学生们所食用的饭菜都来自同一家公司。

　　中毒的4000名学生中多数来自德国东部地区，有1100多名学生来自勃兰登堡州、400名学生来自柏林、600多名学生来自萨克森州、约500名学生来自图林根州。

　　一所学校的负责人表示，由于中毒学生数量太多，学校已经暂时停课。