Thanks for the recommendation. I have quickly read a summary of the book. It seems it is claimed that the CDC has not responded appropriately to ME/CFS. Whether that is true or not, I do not know. But, when accusing someone of a crime, you have to be able to provide a motive. So far, I cannot find one. Why would the CDC be dismissive of our particular disease, in spite of hard physical evidence? Especially if they, as you claim, spend more resources on lesser diseases? What makes our disease special? You say it's because they had enough on their hands with AIDS already. That doesn't seem like a likely explanation. We are talking about a very small epidemic, involving less than 50 people.
There just doesn't seem to be an incentive here.
It sounds like you haven't been around very long. Sadly I have been.
50 ?? I have no idea where you get such a number. are you thinking perhaps of one particular cluster outbreak somewhere ? can't think of one of that number.
There were many cluster outbreaks all over the states that seemed to all happen/explode in the mid 80s. --- Incline Village, Charlotte, Lyndonville, Pittsburgh, SF... and well, more than I can remember.
I don't have the numbers handy.... so I will just list the few that are in my head at the moment.
I do know that over 250 people got sick in lyndonville. most of them kids.
First handed, I was in SF and 2 friends got sick at the exact same time( as in can pinpoint it to the same night) , as did several family members of co workers, friends of friends. Everyone knew someone.....
Support groups in the city were popping up all over town and Carol Jessup's practice exploded. Lecture halls were filled with patients and family members. Wait lists were long for any doctor that was willing to see anyone with the flu that wouldn't go
away. It is harder to equate a cluster in a big city. But there was certainly an outbreak in SF at the time. And of course there were many pilgrimages to Incline Village.
In LA it was known as the "screen writers disease" . another not so small cluster. A friend was sadly a member of that group.
There are many more listed in the book. ( osler's)
It was not a small epidemic at all. It still isn't.
And actually going back in history, it wasn't -- it was just called various names at different times. ( I think it was Bell who wrote a book "a disease of a thousand names" and researched all the past outbreaks and names going back in time.