Mystery Illness Paralyzing Young Girls Sparks COVID Vaccine Theory

A strange illness has plagued more than 90 high school girls in Kenya, and some conspiracy theorists are blaming a COVID-19 vaccine.

Officials are working to find the cause of a mysterious illness that occurred in dozens of students at St. Theresa's Eregi Girls High School in Kakamega on Wednesday. The students complained of knee pain and had difficulty walking. In some cases, the ailment led to leg paralysis and what appeared to be convulsions, according to the BBC. But medical experts are uncertain what the illness could be.

Shortly after videos of the sick students were shared on social media, conspiracy theorists tried to link the illness to a COVID-19 vaccination campaign that allegedly occurred at the school in July.

Blood, stool and urine samples were collected from the girls and sent to laboratories to be tested. Officials are awaiting the test results, but some health experts are suggesting the illness might have been caused by mass hysteria.

Mass hysteria is largely considered to be a conversion disorder, a mental health condition that creates physical symptoms caused by emotional or mental stress. The disorder is considered a collective behavior, and the spontaneous symptoms are typically seen in a large group of individuals who influence one another. Symptoms are spread visually and auditorily. Once witnessing the symptoms in someone else, a person may experience similar ones.

However, conspiracy theorists have a different idea of what caused the illness: COVID-19 vaccines.

Videos of the bizarre incident spread across social media. In one clip, schoolgirls clutched one another as their legs seemed to give out beneath them while they stumbled into the school. Rumors spreading across X (formerly Twitter) questioned whether the girls had recently received a COVID-19 vaccination.

"COUNCIDENCE???" one person posted on X after learning about the illness. "More than 100 female students at St. Theresa Eregi Girls' High School in Kenya were diagnosed with an unknown disease! In July 2023, there was a COVID 19 vaccination campaign at the same school."

"A very interesting coincidence that one year later, nearly 100 students from St. Theresa Eregi Girls are now suffering from a mysterious disease," another user wrote on X, attaching a post from the World Health Organization. The WHO post was from July and showed students at the school being inoculated against COVID-19.

Kenyan-American businessman Malik Obama, the half-brother of former President Barack Obama, also shared the theory after reposting the video of the girls walking strangely.

Some posts alleged that the girls had all been vaccinated by a batch of Pfizer inoculations. The claim is adding fuel to baseless allegations that coronavirus vaccines can have devastating and bizarre effects.

Misinformation about coronavirus vaccine side effects has recently spread on social media following other health-related news. Earlier this month, after former Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield died of brain cancer, some conspiracy theorists tried to link his death to a COVID-19 vaccine.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that "there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, lead to recurrence, or lead to disease progression. Furthermore, COVID-19 vaccines do not change your DNA (your genetic code)."

The NIH added it was "not aware of any evidence that suggests vaccines" can cause a rise in tumor markers or signs of cancer recurrence.

Some parents have taken their children out of school as the investigation continues, but the BBC reported that there are conflicting reports on whether the school has closed.

A similar incident occurred four years ago, in which a strange cough plagued a student before spreading to affect several others. However, that incident had the characteristics of a viral disease, and the biggest concern with the most recent case is that the paralysis is not manifesting like a viral disease, the BBC reported.

Newsweek reached out to the Mayo Clinic by email for comment on the Kenyan illness.

Update 10/5/23, 1:45 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.