Portugese Soap Opera Makes Children Sick

We all know that soap operas can be sickening, but they're rarely sufficiently powerful to cause rashes, breathing difficulties and dizziness in viewers!

Over 300 children from 14 different schools in Portugal have reported these symptoms after watching a soap opera and some schools have been forced to close.

The symptoms reported mimic those of a fictional virus that appeared on an episode of the Portugese teen soap "Strawberries With Sugar". In the show, a school was threatened by an outbreak of the virus - in the real world children soon began to report similar symptoms.

The outbreak also concided with end of year exams. Doctors have suggested that the illness is due some children genuinely fearing their minor ailments are something serious and others consciously or unconsciously imitating symptoms.

The Portuguese National Institute for Medical Emergency described the Strawberries With Sugar Virus as an example of mass hysteria.


Technorati tags:strange weird TV