Kids TV series causes rash

A mysterious illness is sweeping Portuguese schools as children complain of symptoms similar to those suffered by characters in a teenage television show.

Hundreds of children have complained of symptoms including rashes, breathing difficulties and dizziness at 14 schools across Portugal. The National Institute for Medical Emergencies (INEM) has already been called by five schools in the Northern region of Portugal to investigate the mysterious virus but were unable to find any “rational” explanation to the rashes.

Doctors have named it the "Strawberries with Sugar Virus" as the outbreak came a few days after the popular television show of that name aired an episode about a life-threatening virus descending on a school.

Tags: Morangos, Açucar, Morangos com Açucar, Doctors, Portugal, teenage, television, show