Anthrax. West Nile Virus. SARS. Flu. Health topics that ignite fear and panic. Newspaper headlines and even popular TV shows like “24” fuel the public’s preoccupation with worries about being well one minute and seriously ill the next. However, anthrax poisoning, West Nile and SARS are relatively rare, and somewhat exotic, making it easier to feel comfortably distant and safe from their effects. But flu is everywhere; it even has its own season.

This year’s particularly nasty strain and an unprecedented shortage of vaccine have intensified public concern about flu. An average of 114,000 Americans are hospitalized and 36,000 die every year from the flu.

Nobody wants to get it. And in today’s busy world, nobody has “time” to be sick for a week or two. Imagine how people would panic if their case of the flu persisted for months or even for years.

Yet isn’t that what CFIDS is, in its simplest form? A vicious flu that doesn’t subside, that wreaks havoc on most major body systems and upsets subtle chemical pathways. A flu that turns a couple days of sick leave into long-term disability. An illness that saps stamina, brain power, bank accounts and hope.

Using flu as a metaphor for CFIDS may not be a perfect public relations strategy, but in this new year The CFIDS Association of America is testing novel ways to get the public’s attention and enhance their understanding of an illness that continues to baffle even the brightest scientific minds. We’re focusing more resources than ever on educating health care providers about diagnosing and managing CFIDS. And we are intensifying efforts to expand cutting-edge CFIDS research. In 2004 we intend to make significant progress on all these fronts. We hope you’ll join us at this critical time.

Sincerely,

K. Kimberly Kenney
President & CEO
The CFIDS Association of America

P.S. The fall 2003 issue of The CFS Research Review included guidance on persons with CFIDS taking the flu shot. Click here to access the article. Then please, make your tax-deductible donation of $25, $50, $100 or more. Your gift is vital to improving the lives of the 800,000 Americans who suffer the devastating effects of CFIDS.