| It is affecting people in much the same way as tarantism, or the dancing sickness, affected the Italians in the middle ages. |
| The tarantism so common in Italy from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century is another example of epidemic hysteria. |
| In many families naming tarantism was taboo, reflecting this ambiguity between condemnation and belief. |
| Under such favourable circumstances, it is clear that tarantism must every year have made further progress. |
| Finally, tarantism has declined more and more in modern times, and is now limited to single cases. |
| It is certain, however, that tarantism was very prevalent in earlier times. |
