40 students faint in Meherpur school, authorities claim ‘mass hysteria’

At least 40 students of a girls school in Meherpur have fainted, as a result of what the school management described as 'mass hysteria'.

Sholmari Secondary Girls School was closed down for the day on Sunday but hospital and school authorities said all the victims were out of danger.

Meherpur General Hospital’s Supervisor Mizanur Rahman said it was an attack of mass hysteria, a term used to describe rapid spread of hysterical physical symptoms like fainting in a group of people.

He added mostly physically and psychologically weak people suffer from such attacks.

The hospital is treating 11 victims who were admitted. The rest were released after first aid.

They were administered saline and sleep inducers. “All of them are doing well”

The school’s Headmaster Mahabubur Rahman said the fainting started around 9:30am after sixth grade student Mukta Begum fell unconscious.

Around 40/45 students fainted after that.

He said they closed down the school to arrest the spread of the 'mass hysteria'.

The district’s Education Officer Gazi Mohammad Rafique and the Upazila’s acting secondary education officer Hosne Mobarak visited the school later.

On Feb 1, in a similar attack, over a hundred workers of a garment factory in Savar fell ill after finding out that an extended building of the factory was constructed over a piece of land which had been a crematorium.

Enam Medical College and Hospital Vice Principal and Psychiatry department Professor Dewan Abdur Rahim described it as 'mass hysteria'