In May 2006, several Portuguese teenagers developed symptoms similar to a fictitious disease portrayed in the Portuguese teen soap opera "Morangos com Açúcar." The event, which has been called Morangos com Açúcar Virus or Soap Opera Virus, has been deemed an episode of mass psychogenic illness.
History.
The Morangos com Açúcar Virus (also known as the Soap Opera Virus) was initiated by an episode of the popular Portuguese teen soap opera entitled "Morangos com Açúcar" in which a terrible disease was introduced to the school attended by the characters in the series. The television show, which first premiered in August 2003 on TVI (currently owned by Media Capital), follows the stories of a group of "normal" teenage kids and the dramaticized ups and downs that they encounter in their daily lives, much like the Canadian drama series "Degrassi." 
A few days after the episode aired, a few teenagers began to develop symptoms similar to those depicted on the show. These symptoms included rashes, breathing troubles, and severe dizziness. The "disease" spread to more than 300 high school students in 14 different Portuguese schools. Some schools temporarily closed because of the severity of the outbreak. 
The Portuguese National Institute for Medical Emergency deemed the case an episode of mass psychogenic illness. Doctor Nelson Pereira, the director of the PNIME, said, "What we concretely have is a few children with allergies and apparently a phenomenon of many other children imitating." Another doctor, Mario Almeidi, pronounced his disbelief in the disease, saying "I know of no disease which is so selective that it only attacks school children." It was also pointed out that the craze coincidentally began just before the time of End Of Course Tests. The explanation was ignored because of the sheer enormity of the situation.
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