Thank you for your ongoing support for this petition to HHS to adopt and use the proper criteria, the International Consensus Criteria (#MEICC), for the disease myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). Since starting this petition about two years ago, the plight of people with myalgic encephalomyelitis has not improved. 

Since the history of ME, around 70 years ago, worldwide government health agencies have attempted to minimize and marginalize this severe disease.  One of the ways they have accomplished this is by "dumbing down" the criteria so that people with all types of "fatigue" issues are falsely included in the diagnosis and research of the disease. 

Now, there is a new issue with people who had Covid19 who experience lingering symptoms (long-covid) being told they are actually suffering from ME.  This presumption is premature, especially when applying overly broad criteria.  It is of utmost importance that we don’t misdiagnose long-covid patients by assuming that their profound fatigue and other symptoms are attributed to “ME/CFS”.  The way to ensure proper diagnosis and research is by use of proper criteria.   

Long-covid patients deserve vigorous research, but the only way to identify whether they are actually suffering from ME is to apply the ICC criteria for ME with the testing and guidance for confirming the diagnosis in the IC Primer.

Jannik Mabus of Germany recognizes the importance of using the proper criteria for ME.  He started a petition in German for the purpose of recognizing the disease ME using the ICC and IC Primer.

Jannik states in his petition - http://chng.it/hjvhPXVWPx:

"I became seriously ill with ME in 2012 and have not been able to take part in life as such since then. The disease is also known as "living death", which unfortunately hits it right. My brother fell ill with severe ME in 2017 and had an extremely fast and aggressive course, which is why he, unfortunately, died at the age of 26." 

Please show your support for Jannik and people with ME in Germany by signing his petition - http://chng.it/hjvhPXVWPx