The Grid published a thorough article examining how viral infection can lead to the development of post-viral diseases, including Long COVID and ME/CFS, and how this is a unique opportunity to move the research forward if we listen to patients. #MEAction spoke with The Grid on various occasions to educate them about ME/CFS, and the history of past outbreaks.
It’s a unique opportunity for research to provide answers about post-viral illness, but we shouldn’t be starting from a place of zero since ME/CFS researchers, clinicians and patients have already been immersed in this field for decades.
“It’s also important to understand that scientists examining long-term consequences of covid aren’t starting from scratch. “Long covid research is still playing catch-up to ME/CFS research,” said Jaime Seltzer, director of scientific and medical outreach at MEAction, an advocacy group. “We are confirming again and again what we found in smaller [research] cohorts that have been triggered by other viral infections,” she said. Pre-covid research into post-viral illnesses suffered from underfunding, smaller sample sizes and outright dismissal of the reality of these conditions, Seltzer said.”
