In 1977 Frieda L. Gehlen offered a revised theory of hysterical contagion that argues that what is actually contagious is the belief that showing certain characteristics will "entitle one to the secondary benefits of the sick role.
to be more consistent with the existing knowledge of the contagion process and the theoretical approaches to collective behavior.
Word of a bug in the factory that would bite its victims and cause them to develop the above symptoms quickly spread.
After research by company physicians and experts from the US Public Health Service Communicable Disease Center, it was concluded that the case was one of mass hysteria.
Workers concluded that the environment was quite stressful; the plant had recently opened, was quite busy and organization was poor.