
Recovery stories have been popular in the media lately. Two recent stories have evoked a wide range of reactions among those with ME, with some gaining hope from them and supporting the right for everyone to share their experiences as they choose; and others feeling let down by narratives that arguably perpetuate negative stereotypes about…

How can people with energy-limiting conditions march for our rights if we have negligible physical capability and exertion worsens our symptoms? My colleague Mlindeni Gabela and I are pioneering a new kind of protest in South Africa: SICK Pride. SICK stands for the Society for the Inclusion of Chronic Knowledge, which we feel is a…

Observational studies suggest Low-Dose Naltrexone may benefit some people with Long COVID and ME. People with these diseases have shared their experiences with LDN in online communities, reflecting the value of patient knowledge. Now, LDN is attracting growing interest from researchers. Current clinical trials include a Long COVID study in Australia, a Spanish study focused…

This spring, a record-breaking heat wave swept through Brazil, triggering fires, exacerbating drought, and testing the country’s energy grid. Fernando Santos, 33, who had been living with Long Covid and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) since June 2021 and had made some progress in his recovery, began to decline when the heat arrived in Rio…

Tuberculosis (TB) and Long Covid are two diseases that have some overlapping symptoms. The two are often mistaken for each other in South Africa. Long Covid is poorly understood and acknowledged in South Africa, and mostly dismissed, say people living with the disease. And it’s worse if you’re Black and poor.

Earlier this month, a group of Olympic volunteers demanded Covid-19 precautions at the 2024 Paris Olympics, stating they would resign if precautions weren’t implemented. “Covid-19 pandemic threat denial is not an antidote to contamination,” the volunteers wrote in a press release. “If no steps are taken, we will collectively resign from our assignments, and will…

In the fall of 2009, researchers at a lab in Reno, Nevada, said they detected a potentially transmissible virus in the blood of people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The study led the American Red Cross to ban blood donations from people with ME. The study was retracted in 2011 and the Red Cross guideline was…

Despite its global reach, Long Covid is widely underreported in Africa due to a lack of awareness of the condition, inadequate clinical data, and limited access to health care. The impact on the African continent remains largely obscured by a veil of silence and neglect. In a region already burdened by health challenges, including infectious…
advocacy arts CDC clinical trials commentary COVID-19 precautions disability essay government policy H5N1 healthcare HHS influenza international Long COVID in children masks and respirators ME ME/CFS medical education national COVID-19 trends NIH NIH RECOVER podcast public health research update science Trump administration updates and events vaccines wastewater surveillance