History knows a lot of strange phenomena that are difficult to give a scientific explanation. Today, the editors of Interesting to know will tell you about the 5 most mysterious epidemics in the history of mankind.
Gulf epidemic
As you already understood from the name, the Persian Gulf was the focus of the disease. The victims of the epidemic were the veterans of the 1992 war. The disease has affected just over 100,000 people. The following symptoms were observed in patients: headache, insomnia, nausea, skin rash, cough, diarrhea, memory and concentration problems. But, unfortunately, the doctors could not find the right treatment for the patients, since the cause of the disease was not established. Doctors could only somewhat alleviate the symptoms of those suffering.
Dance plague
Another name for the disease is St. Vitus's Dance. It was common in the Middle Ages. People just started dancing and it was impossible to stop them. At the same time, the patients did not eat or sleep, which led to exhaustion, from which the victims of the strange epidemic died. As you can imagine, the medicine of that time was not able to identify the reasons for this behavior. And modern doctors agree that mass psychosis, which could be caused by fear and depression, became the cause of the inappropriate behavior of patients. It has been established that a terrible epidemic, as a rule, was preceded by mass famine, floods and other cataclysms. Their consequences caused people to fear hopelessness.
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Corot
The disease is also called retractable genital syndrome. Koro is more common in Africa and Asia, where human reproductive functions play a special role. The most massive outbreak of the epidemic was recorded in Singapore in the 1960s. The disease, as a rule, occurs among males and is a manifestation of mass hysteria. Koro manifests itself as follows: patients are suddenly seized with panic fear. It seems to men that their genitals are beginning to be drawn into the abdominal cavity. And to prevent this, patients use whatever comes to hand, most often mutilating themselves.
Pathological tourism
This ailment is manifested by the frequent desire of a person to change the environment. The disease was first established in 1986, when a man in a semi-delirious state was admitted to one of the Bordeaux clinics. The patient could not remember how he ended up in this settlement. Later, the doctors were able to establish that the patient traveled all over Europe, Russia and Turkey. The man began his journey in 1981 in Belgium. In total, several cases of the disease have been recorded in the world.
Sleeping sickness in Kazakhstan
The Kazakhstani village of Kalachi became known to the world after the outbreak of a mysterious epidemic, which was nicknamed sleeping sickness. People fell asleep right on the go, somewhat reminiscent of lunatics. At the same time, the "patients" could move, talk, but afterwards they could not remember anything. People could be in a similar state from several days to several months. At first, it was believed that the disease was a manifestation of mass hysteria, caused by the subconscious desire of the inhabitants to leave the village. But later, the real cause of the epidemic was established - a high level of carbon dioxide in the air, caused by abandoned uranium mines near Kalachi.