Weird question: Diseases spread from imported toys in 70s?

[AcroRay]

Here's an odd question, falling somewhere between rumor and history...

When my wife was very little, she contracted and illness that turned her purple and sent her to the children's hospital in the middle or late 1970s. No one at the hospital could diagnose the illness except for an intern who had just returned from somewhere in Asia, and who said that it was relatively common there. Whatever treatment he suggested worked quickly, and she recovered just fine. It was a long time ago, and her mom has since lost the details. She had lots of plush toys when she was little. I think there might have been some connection someone in her family suggested.

I recall at about that time adults in my town were being cautious about 'those stuffed animals from Hong Kong. They're making kids sick with some disease from China."

I've been searching the 'net for information on what it might have been that she had, or any news reports suggesting caution for imported plush toys, but with no results. It might have been "Kawasaki's Syndrome" that she developed, but we're not sure.

Anyone recall these concerns, rumors, etc? Is there any connection to this and the 'made with all new materials' that you see occasionally on modern plush toys? Is there no related connection here?

[Werewolf]

It's unlikely from toys. As we all know toys spend months in shipping and the likelihood the bacteria would survive that long on synthetic fibres of plush toys is remote.

The "All new materials" on plush toys is a legal requirement that keeps manufacturers from using factory scraps to stuff their plush toys. A teddy bear I got from my Mom, that was hers as a child, was stuffed with sawdust and scrap fabric.

[spamn]

It's unlikely from toys. As we all know toys spend months in shipping and the likelihood the bacteria would survive that long on synthetic fibres of plush toys is remote.

The "All new materials" on plush toys is a legal requirement that keeps manufacturers from using factory scraps to stuff their plush toys. A teddy bear I got from my Mom, that was hers as a child, was stuffed with sawdust and scrap fabric.

Well, from my extensive experience at watching 'House', I could just point out that bacteria isn't the only cause of ill health, so something on toys can't yet be ruled out. It could have been a toxic substance, allergic reaction to a chemical, or even a hitchhiking insect or parasite.

[bizzaro megomauler]

May be crossed wires, but here is what I know: When I was a youngin, I had a Curious George doll that went everywhere with me. George had a bit of an issue though, seems his brothers had an unusual ammount of lead in the paint, and detailing of the doll. This was found out when a child was permitted to take the doll into x-ray, and it did not pentrate the doll! I remember this well, because my parents tried to take him from me a few times to check the lot #. It was somewhere around the same timeframe, as I was 4-5 and remember getting him,micronauts, and Ali all for my Birthday.

[Werewolf]

It could have been a toxic substance, allergic reaction to a chemical,

An allergic reaction to something the plush toys were made with, like the chemical used as a flame retardant, is certainly possible.

[palitoy]

May be crossed wires, but here is what I know: When I was a youngin, I had a Curious George doll that went everywhere with me. George had a bit of an issue though, seems his brothers had an unusual ammount of lead in the paint, and detailing of the doll. This was found out when a child was permitted to take the doll into x-ray, and it did not pentrate the doll! I remember this well, because my parents tried to take him from me a few times to check the lot #. It was somewhere around the same timeframe, as I was 4-5 and remember getting him,micronauts, and Ali all for my Birthday.

I remember the Curious George scare well, it's what I think of whenever I see one.

[Bruce Banner]

On a sort of related note, I remember some squishy snake kind of toys imported from the Far East in the early 80s. They had water in them which is what gave them the squishy feel, and that water was supposedly contaminated with something.