joshualevy
Senior Member
- Messages
- 158
Is there a summary of ME/CFS epidemiology research somewhere? I don't mean how common it is; I'm interested in how it is spread. My memory is that when AIDS was first described, the first thing that was determined, was that it was a sexually transmitted disease, and that very much helped to narrow the search for the causative agent. Has similar work been done with ME/CFS? Has it been attempted?
Everyone complains that most research is "a shot in the dark", which is true. However, we can learn how it is spread without knowing anything about the exact cause. (This is the whole point of the book "The Ghost Map".) Once we know the general method of spread, it allows us to focus on a much smaller set of possible causes. Also, we can prevent new infections even if we can not cure existing ones (which certainly has a public health benefit). My memory is that for AIDS, they first figured out it was sexually transmitted (by tracking transmission), and then they figured out the size of the infectious particle (by filtering), and then they found the exact virus. By the time they were looking at specific viruses, they knew the basic size of the thing they were looking for.
Is that what "The Incline Village" study was trying to do? Is that study on line? Has anyone else tried to do something similar?
Everyone complains that most research is "a shot in the dark", which is true. However, we can learn how it is spread without knowing anything about the exact cause. (This is the whole point of the book "The Ghost Map".) Once we know the general method of spread, it allows us to focus on a much smaller set of possible causes. Also, we can prevent new infections even if we can not cure existing ones (which certainly has a public health benefit). My memory is that for AIDS, they first figured out it was sexually transmitted (by tracking transmission), and then they figured out the size of the infectious particle (by filtering), and then they found the exact virus. By the time they were looking at specific viruses, they knew the basic size of the thing they were looking for.
Is that what "The Incline Village" study was trying to do? Is that study on line? Has anyone else tried to do something similar?