Tanganyika pool epidemic

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The Tanganyika laughter epidemic was a 1962 epidemic of laughing fits in Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania ) that lasted for several months and affected about 1000 mostly young people. It was mass hysteria (Mass Psychogenic Illness) .

course

On January 30, 1962, three students at a girls' school in Kashasha, on the western shore of Lake Victoria , burst out laughing and couldn't stop. Before long, 95 of the 159 students aged 12 to 18 were infected, so the school had to close on March 18 because regular operations could not be maintained. When the school reopened on May 21, 57 students - but no teachers - were still affected, prompting it to close again at the end of June.

The students who had been sent home in the meantime caused the laughter to spread further. Ten days after the school in Kashasha was first closed, the epidemic also reached Nshamba, about 90 kilometers away, where more than 200 other people were infected, mostly students. In the region's capital , Bukoba , 48 out of 154 students were affected, also leading to the closure of a school from June 10-18. From there, the fits of laughter spread to Kanyangereka, 35 kilometers away, where two schools for boys had to be closed.

There was also an outbreak of the epidemic in Mbarara in neighboring Uganda in February of that year.

Over a period of six months to a year and a half to two years, the laughter spread across the region, affecting around 1,000 people, before gradually subsiding.

symptoms

The laughing attacks, sometimes alternating with crying, screaming or severe anxiety, lasted from a few minutes to a few hours. After a break they could start again. Sometimes they were accompanied by outbreaks of violence. This could last up to 16 days. Those affected, mainly girls and young women, showed symptoms of fear, pain and feelings of fainting and had breathing problems. Dilated pupils were noted in those affected. Adults were rarely affected, educated people not at all. There were no deaths.

causes

Those affected were examined for possible triggers for the epidemic. Blood tests for biochemical or bacteriological causes yielded no results. The suspicion of a toxic substance in the food turned out to be incorrect. In addition, the transmission took place from one person to another and was therefore more similar to a viral infection. Meanwhile, rumors were circulating among the population about poisoned food or air contamination from atomic bomb explosions.

Christian F. Hempelmann, who examined the events of 1962 in 2002, cites the stress of the students as a possible cause of the Mass Psychogenic Illness (MPI) due to the expectations of their teachers and parents in view of the December experienced Tanganyika's independence in 1961 .

See also

  • Jerusalem syndrome , a similar psychotic illness; those affected are affected individually.
  • Arjenyattah epidemic , phenomenon in 1983 in the West Bank in which those affected showed symptoms of poisoning.

web links

itemizations

  1. ↑ a b c d e f A M Rankin, PJ Philip: An Epidemic of Laughing in the Bukoba District of Tanganyika . In: Central African Medical Journal. No. 9, 1963, pp. 167-170. PMID 13973013 , available on Radio Lab in Tanzania
  2. ↑ a b c Simone Sebastion: Examining 1962's 'laughter epidemic' . In: Chicago Tribune. July 29, 2003
  3. ↑ NZZ Folio 11/02: Ha! Ha! Ha!
  4. ↑ Bruno Kissling: Le médecin et le rire , report on the Journée Romande des Omnipraticiens of June 21, 2007 in Lausanne, laughter is not always funny – p. 30 (PDF; 87 kB) , in: Primary Care 2008/02, Schweizerische Journal of Family Medicine
  5. ↑ gehirn-und-geist.de: Together we are - different
  6. ↑ Christian F. Hempelmann: The laughter of the 1962 Tanganyika 'laughter epidemic' . In: Humor – International Journal of Humor Research. Volume 20, Issue 1, 2007, pages 49-71. See deGruyter.com online