The University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock has reported a high spike in short-term amnesia cases following the game between America and Belgium in the World Cup, according to a news release Wednesday (July 2).
The first case was reported at approximately 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday (July 1). An unnamed patient wearing a USA jersey came to the hospital with no memory of any events after June 12. Although he remembers driving himself to the medical facility, he has no memory of what he had been doing before Tuesday evening, the news release states.
Shortly after, a female patient was checked into the hospital with similar symptoms. She also had no memory of what she had been doing from June 12 to July 1, according to the release.
Throughout the evening, a total of 30 more patients appeared at the hospital with similar conditions. The two things every patient had in common were the dates they could not recall, and every patient was wearing a team USA soccer jersey. Other than memory loss, everyone appeared to be in good health, the release states.
A psychiatric doctor with UAMS spoke on condition of anonymity with Rock City Times because she was not authorized to speak with the media. She told us that all of the patients appeared to be soccer fans but had no recollection of The 2014 World Cup.
“This is common and happens about every four years or so. Most of the patients suffer from a mental condition that causes them to feel social anxiety if their peers are excited about something they aren’t,” the psychiatric doctor said.
The doctor continued, “The pressure from the anxiety forces them to adopt a quick, yet extreme, passion for whatever it is their peers care about. In this case, it appears they became instant fans of the United States soccer team, and when America was defeated by Belgium Tuesday afternoon, they snapped out of it and lost their memory of the past month.”
After tests were run on all the patients, it was concluded they were suffering from Bandwagon Syndrome, according to the release.
The syndrome appears to be unique to Americans, and many other hospitals across the county were reporting a similar outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control released the following statement:
“We are aware of the large outbreak of Bandwagon Syndrome, and we are monitoring the situation. The symptoms do not appear to be contagious. We are doing everything we can to help those afflicted, but at this time, information is limited.”
All patients that were checked in to UAMS with short-term amnesia were seen by doctors and then promptly sent home with recommendations to watch as much Major League Baseball as possible, the release states.
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