Puppy pregnancy syndrome (PPS) is apsychosomatic illness in humans brought on bymass hysteria. People suffering from PPS believe that shortly after being bitten by a dog, puppies are conceived within their abdomen. The syndrome is thought to be localized in villages in several states ofIndia. Some psychiatrists believe that PPS meets the criteria for aculture-bound disorder.
Witch doctors offer oral cures, which they claim will dissolve the puppies. Doctors in India have tried to educate the public that this condition is impossible and a superstition, and that treating this condition instead ofrabies can be dangerous.
Puppy pregnancy syndrome (PPS) is apsychosomatic illness in humans brought on bymass hysteria. People suffering from PPS believe that shortly after being bitten by a dog, puppies are conceived within their abdomen.[1] This is said to be especially likely if the dog issexually excited at the time of the attack.[2] Victims are said to bark like dogs and have reported being able to see the puppies inside them when looking at water or hear them growling in their abdomen.[1][2][3] It is believed that the victims will eventually die – especially men, who will give birth to their puppies through thepenis.[2][3]Witch doctors offer oral cures, which they claim will dissolve the puppies, allowing them to pass through thedigestive system and beexcreted "without the knowledge of the patient".[1][2]
The syndrome is thought to be localized in villages in several states ofIndia, includingAssam,Bihar,Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand,Odisha, andWest Bengal, and has been reported by tens of thousands of individuals.[1] It is far more prevalent in areas with little access to education.[1] Some psychiatrists believe that PPS meets the criteria for aculture-bound disorder.[2]
Doctors in India have tried to educate the public that this condition is impossible and a superstition.[3] Believing the condition may be dangerous, as a person may have become infected withrabies after a bite, and seeking witch doctor treatment can delay medical treatment.[1] Most sufferers are referred topsychiatric services, but in some instances patients fail to take anti-rabies medication before symptom onset, thinking that they are pregnant with a puppy and that folk medicine will cure them.[1][2] This misbelief is further compounded by witch doctors who state that their medicine will fail if sufferers seek standard treatment.[1]