[The Tuberculosis outbreak due to whooping cough inoculation at Iwagasaki-machi in 1949]

Due to pertussis inoculation, 65 infants were accidentally infected by tuberculosis in Iwagasaki-machi, Miyagi Prefecture in 1949. The GHQ/SCAP record on Tuberculosis in Iwagasaki documented the details of this affair and the clinical reports about the victims, and they were the first to be treated by Streptomycine in Japan. The following three causes of mycobacterium tuberculosis contamination due to pertussis vaccine were considered, but no conclusive solution was decided. 1) Adulteration by manufacturer. 2) Carelessness of doctor. 3) Adulteration by a third person for unknown reason. The Japanese official records do not provide extensive information about it, except for the medical articles of Kosankinkenkyuzasshi (Sendai). The parents of the 65 victims, including 2 dead infants, had accused the governmental official administrator of the responsibility for reparation of the accidental inoculation, but they dropped the case against the government 5 years later. There is no detailed record about the judicial aspects of this incident.