Over 100 girls in Kenya, struck by a mysterious 'paralyzing illness,' were deemed victims of mass hysteria by authorities. These students from a Musoli all-girls school, northwest of Nairobi, exhibited severe symptoms, including uncontrollable shaking. However, officials now attribute the crisis to anxiety related to upcoming year-end exams. Alarming footage online documented the ordeal.
Students sit at the St. George's Girls' Secondary School compound as they wait to be picked by their parents and guardians ,following a directive by the Kenyan government to suspended learning in all institutions of learning as a preventive measure against the spreading of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Nairobi on March 17, 2020.
Mass Hysteria in an All-Girls School in Kenya
Tests were conducted using samples from the affected students to investigate the possible infection at the school. Concerned about the potentially disastrous consequences of an infectious outbreak, Kenyan health authorities initiated an inquiry into the outbreak's cause.
Dr. Bernard Wesonga reported that samples were collected from hospitalized students in four county hospitals and subjected to both culture and sensitivity tests in government laboratories. The results showed that the students were not suffering from any illness, indicating a psychological challenge likely driven by panic.
Boniface Kibaki, the education secretary in the Catholic Diocese of Kakamega, confirmed that the hospitalized students were found to be free of infection according to medical results. Samples of blood, feces, and urine from the affected girls were sent to laboratories for testing.
While there were conflicting reports in local newspapers regarding the temporary closure of the school in Musoli, the Ministry of Education confirmed that it remained open. Some parents choose to withdraw their children from school as a precaution.
Mass hysteria, also known medically as mass psychogenic illness (MPI), remains a phenomenon that doctors, anthropologists, and sociologists have struggled to explain. Past cases of MPI have shown a higher likelihood of affecting women over men and often begin with a single individual.
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What Is Mass Hysteria?
Specialists view mass hysteria as a psychogenic illness, originating in the mind but manifesting real physiological symptoms. It is also categorized as a conversion disorder, where nervous system symptoms arise without a physical illness cause, often linked to psychological distress. Due to its diverse manifestations, defining or characterizing mass hysteria remains challenging.
According to American sociologist Robert Bartholomew, a specialist in mass hysteria and social panics, there are two primary types of mass hysteria. In a 2013 article published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Bartholomew discusses the first type, known as anxiety hysteria, which is typically triggered by sudden, severe stress within a closely connected group.
Often, this stress results from the perception of an unfamiliar and potentially harmful odor. Symptoms commonly associated with anxiety hysteria include dizziness, headaches, fainting, and altered breathing patterns, but most individuals tend to recover within 24 hours.
The second type, referred to as motor hysteria, arises from prolonged anxiety and is characterized by physical manifestations such as twitching, shaking, difficulty walking, uncontrollable laughter and crying, communication challenges, and trance-like states.
In 2015, 40 UK schoolchildren experienced nausea and faintness after attending a remembrance service, with fire brigade specialists suspecting mass hysteria as no hazardous materials were found. Similarly, in 1965, 85 girls in Blackburn fainted, and while various causes were considered, including anxiety and viruses, none could be definitively confirmed, leading to suspicions of mass hysteria.
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