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RETURN
TO TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Winter
2001
Media Watch
A report on
coverage of CFIDS in the mainstream media.
Editorial educates
researchers. An
opinion piece on chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS) in the Nov. 13 issue of The
Scientist explains why CFIDS is a major health problem. Mary Ellen McNamara, vice president of
the New Jersey CFS Association, reviews avenues for scientific inquiry and notes that there has never
been a better time technologically for federal agencies to launch significant efforts to prevent and control
the illness.
Marie Claire explores fatigue. The December 2000 issue of
Marie Claire
ran an article on how extreme tiredness can be a sign of a serious chronic illness. “Do you always lack
energy, but don’t know why?” focuses on CFIDS and fibromyalgia (FM) and gives information on symptoms
and treatment, emphasizing that both illnesses are similar and difficult to diagnose.
Koop’s Web site covers CFS. Former Surgeon General C. Everett
Koop’s Web
site, www.drkoop.com, has an
article on “elusive illnesses,” which includes CFIDS. The article includes fact sheets and resource
links. The CFIDS section features an interview with Kim Kenney, President & CEO of the Association,
and information on a Georgetown University study on the effectiveness of NADH (Enada) as a treatment for
CFIDS.
Lerner study gains attention. Both The Wall Street Journal
(Sept.
19, 2000) and U.S. News & World Report (Oct. 2, 2000) ran stories on the work of Dr. Martin
Lerner, an
infectious disease specialist who believes that the cause of CFIDS is
a continuing or reactivated cardiac infection by Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus. Both publications
reported that Lerner found 95% of CFIDS patients in two small studies had abnormal electrocardiograms
indicative of heart damage.
The New Yorker tackles FM. The
Nov. 13, 2000 issue of The New Yorker ran an
article on FM that caused controversy within the CFIDS community. The author included interviews with
physicians who “dismiss [FM]—along with chronic fatigue and irritable bowel—as a ‘waste-basket syndrome,’
as well as those who believe FM is a real medical condition.”
Thanks to those of you who work with the media to increase awareness
of CFIDS. The CFIDS
Public Relations (CPR) Team helps to monitor and respond to media coverage. Please clip articles about
CFIDS and send them to CPR Team, PO Box 220398, Charlotte, NC 28222.
CFIDS INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS DAY
This year’s
Awareness Day,
May 12, is an excellent opportunity for you to participate in increasing public understanding of CFIDS.
Write, call, or visit your representatives. Alert the media. Contact reporters at your local television
and radio stations, newspapers, and magazines to suggest that they cover CFIDS Awareness Day. Set up a
display at your local library, shopping mall, or place of worship, even place a small ad in your local
newspaper. Give your doctors CFIDS information to display in their offices, provide local hospitals with
materials for their bulletin boards, or submit your practitioners’ names for free subscriptions to The
CFS Research Review.
For a copy of The CFIDS Association’s Awareness Day information packet,
which contains additional promotional information, call the Resource Line or visit the Association’s Web
site at www.cfids.org/advocacy/.
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