Dozens of Vietnamese girls hospitalized for mass 'hysteria'

Dec 16, 2006, 7:55 GMT

Hanoi - More than 50 Vietnamese girls were hospitalized after they fainted at school, and local officials on Saturday blamed the incident on an episode of 'mass hysteria.'

'This is the first time such a thing has happened here in the district,' said Luong Thanh Nhan, a policeman in Vietnam's southern An Giang province. 'It was not the food or the environment which caused the incident.'

According to a report in Thanh Nien newspaper, the director of the medical centre in the district of Thoai Son said the 51 girls who fainted suffered from 'hysteria.' Dao Trong Tuong added that the 'syndrome is commonly found among young, sensitive school girls.'

School and medical officials said the first girl to faint was brought to the Vong Dong Senior Secondary School's nurse on Thursday afternoon. The five girls that accompanied the 13-year old to the nurse's office then fell unconscious.

Emergency medical personnel arrived to take the children to the hospital. Dozens of students in their classrooms, who saw the girls being carried away, also suddenly collapsed.

Most of the girls were released from the medical centre the same day. But according to Nhan, four students remain in the hospital in stable condition.

'Everyone was so worried about the case,' said Nhan. 'We still don't know what the cause was.'