June 10, 2023 11:24 am, updated June 10, 2023 12:49 pm
Authorities in the Kenyan town of Kakamega are investigating the cause of a mysterious illness that left 106 girls at a secondary school with paralyzed legs.
The origin of the disease is not yet clear and the main hypotheses are the transmission of an unknown disease or an episode of generalized hysteria. All of the victims were girls studying at St. Theresa’s Eregi School, about 370 km from Nairobi, in the capital of Kenya.
Tests revealed no cause
Last Monday (February 10th), videos circulated on the Internet showing the students with paralyzed legs. According to the country’s health authorities, initial tests did not detect any infections. Blood, urine and stool tests were performed.
The symptoms were numb and immobile legs. Some girls also suffered from severe headaches, vomiting and fever. However, after being admitted to the hospital, they quickly managed to improve. Of the 106 students admitted, 46 have already been released.
Collective hysteria
The region’s health minister, Bernard Wesonga, said the most likely hypothesis was hysteria. “I think the children had mental health issues which may have caused them to panic,” he told local newspaper The Standard. He believes that students’ mental health is affected by the start of the exam period.
Collective hysteria corresponds to the repetition of a pattern of behavior by a large group of people. Generally, they are related to desires for attention or are generated by collective trauma. In 2022, a similar case occurred at a school in Pernambuco, Brazil: several students vomited and fainted for no apparent reason.
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