Making sense of ME/CFS
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Myalgic encephalomyelitis, 1955-1990
Melvin Ramsay, the Royal Free Hospital outbreak, and the evolving understanding of ME.
K. JOHNSTONE
JUL 22, 2024
“the victims of ME should no longer have to dread the verdict of, ‘All your tests are normal. Therefore there is nothing wrong with you’.” - Melvin Ramsay, 1986.
In July 1955 a nurse and a resident doctor at London’s Royal Free Hospital fell ill with a mystery illness. The illness spread rapidly among the medical staff, particularly the nurses, and within ten days the hospital was forced to close its doors. Over the next few months the illness would strike 287 medical staff, and just 12 patients. Most of those who fell ill were women, but this was to be expected - the hospital had a policy of preferentially hiring women doctors, so most of its medical staff were female.
" #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis , 1955-1990: Melvin Ramsay, the Royal Free Hospital outbreak, & the evolving understanding of ME"
mecfs.substack.com/p/myalgic-en...
I found this interesting. We owe a great deal to Melvin Ramsay & his work over many decades.
#PwME #MyalgicE #NeuroME #MEcfs
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