Disappointing to see such misinformation about #mecfs touted by Dr Norman Swan on yesterday’s episode of the coronacast podcast.

His comments about long-COVID & ME/CFS lasted less than 1 minute. Here’s a thread on what he got wrong in that time. Please share widely! 1/7

1. When asked if there was evidence for long-COVID, he indicated that long-COVID is real, and was more than just fatigue, unlike #mecfs.
#mecfs is also more than fatigue. In fact, the core symptom is post-exertional malaise. Most #mecfs patients have a multitude of symptoms. 2/7

2. He said that #mecfs is “psychosomatic” because the symptoms are created in the brain, giving “a sense of feeling fatigue”. 3/7

By this logic, MS & every other neurological condition is also psychosomatic because the brain creates their symptoms. #mecfs is classified as a neurological condition by WHO. 4/7

3. Swan claimed that long-COVID is “much more highly defined” than #mecfs.

NICE defines long-COVID as symptoms which developed during a COVID-19 infection, but which hadn’t resolved after 12 weeks and for which there is no alternative diagnosis. So much for highly defined! 5/7

Unlike long-COVID, #mecfs has clear diagnostic criteria, including exclusionary conditions. 6/7

4. Swan also claimed that, unlike #mecfs, long-COVID is associated with immune abnormalities.

I’d hate to break it to him, but #mecfs has long been associated with immune abnormalities, notably issues with NK cells. Some researchers believe it to be an autoimmune condition. 7/7

For anyone who missed the episode, the comments on long-COVID and ME/CFS start at 8.10. I’ve also written out a transcript, to save you having to listen!

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/coronacast/you-thought-herd-immunity-would-save-us-maybe-not/13100018

Oops, made a mistake in my first tweet. It was today’s episode, not yesterday’s!