A Child's Death At An Eastern Cape School After A So-called Mass Hysteria Incident Will Be Probed

A psychologist has been assigned to help pupils who were affected by mass hysteria in their school.
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An autopsy into the death of a child during "mass hysteria" at an Eastern Cape school last week revealed that she suffered from blunt force trauma, a department of health spokesperson said on Sunday.

Speaking to News24, Sizwe Kupelo said the single fatality in the Bhekizizwe School mass hysteria incident suffered blunt force trauma to the head and chest.

"We have taken tissue samples for further investigation."

Kupelo previously said the "hysteria" involved visual and auditory hallucinations. "When [the] hysteria hit the one girl, she collapsed and died in the classroom. The rest followed [with feeling ill]."

Schoolchildren were admitted to the Ngcwanguba Hospital in the province.

Kupelo said the dead girl had no visible wounds on her body.

"We are not sure whether she sustained her injuries during her collapse."

He added that the surviving girls were given a clean bill of health after clinical tests were conducted.

"On Friday we assigned a psychologist to speak to the pupils."