Mass Hysteria Spreads Through A Close Group Of People

It Passes From One Person To The Next By Sight Sound And Touch

A Small Real Illness In A Community May Set It Off

There Is Often A Sense Of Threat And An Outsized Reaction

Most Studies Have Described Outbreaks Without Asking Who Falls Ill

Researchers In Botswana Set Out To Measure That

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OKAY BACK FROM THE BOARDING SCHOOL 🏫

Lempu Junior Secondary School Is In A Rural Village In Botswana

About 3,500 People Live In The Village Of Salajwe

It Is About 190 Kilometers From The Capital Gaborone

On 2 March 2019 A Female Boarding Student Fell Ill

She Had Been Well Before That Day

Suddenly She Had Difficulty Holding A Normal Standing Posture

Her Legs Also Moved Abnormally

The Movements Looked Similar To Dancing

She Had No Other Symptoms

A Local Clinic Found No Cause For What Was Happening To Her

By The Following Monday Three More Female Students Came To The Clinic

Their Symptoms Were Similar To Hers

As More Students Fell Ill Their Complaints Varied

Some Reported Numbness In Their Legs Or Trouble Seeing

Others Had Hallucinations Or Believed They Were Blind

That Wednesday The Sick Students Were Referred To A District Hospital

Scottish Livingstone Hospital Was About 130 Kilometers Away

After That Decision The Number Of Sick Students Rose Sharply

Within Days 133 Students Were Admitted There

Doctors At The Hospital Diagnosed Mass Psychogenic Illness

That Is The Medical Name For Mass Hysteria

The Illness Spread Quickly Through Sight And Contact

Researchers Ran A Case Control Study At The School

It Compared Students Who Fell Ill With Students Who Did Not

Interviewers Asked Each Student The Same Set Of Questions

They Interviewed 142 Students Who Had Fallen Ill

202 Students Who Had Not Were Also Questioned

The Students Had A Median Age Of 15

95.8 Percent Of The Sick Students Were Boarding Girls

Boarding Students Live At The School

The Plan Was To Match The Two Groups By Sex

Only One Boy Among The Sick Students Took Part

So The Analysis Was Limited To Girls

The Researchers Then Looked At Contact With Sick Classmates

Students Who Had Physical Contact With Sick Peers Were At Higher Risk

They Were 2.3 Times More Likely To Develop Symptoms

The Link Remained After Other Factors Were Taken Into Account

That Makes Contact With Sick Peers An Independent Predictor

The Authors Noted That Suggestibility Could Bias The Answers

Contact With Sick Peers Was Not The Biggest Factor

Boarding At The School Mattered Far More

Boarders Were 13.2 Times More Likely To Fall Ill Than Day Students

The Figure Was Adjusted For Other Factors

Day Students Go Home Each Night

Most Students From Salajwe Itself Were Day Students

The Sick Students Were Mostly Boarders From Other Villages

How Boarding Girls Felt About Their Facilities Was Linked To Illness

Girls Who Thought Their Dormitory Was Poorly Lit Fell Ill More Often

So Did Girls Who Were Unhappy With Security At The School

The Authors Wrote That Boarding Stress Could Be A Trigger

Other Factors Also Predicted Who Fell Ill

A Past Evaluation By A Psychologist Or Social Worker Was One

Students With That History Were 2.6 Times More Likely To Be Affected

A History Of Traumatic Events Raised The Odds By 77 Percent

Seeing A Spiritual Healer Nearly Doubled The Odds

Each Of These Was An Independent Predictor In The Study

The Authors Called The Outbreak Typical Of Mass Psychogenic Illness

They Linked It To Both Psychological And Environmental Risk Factors