A tsunami of post-viral disease is about to hit Australia
People with ME/CFS are already drowning. Australia must prepare now for the forthcoming economic, health and social impacts of Long COVID.
Our March 2022
Report released – State of the Nation: Because people with ME/CFS matter
A tsunami of post-viral disease is about to hit Australia. People with ME/CFS are already drowning. Australia must prepare now for the forthcoming economic, health and social impacts of Long COVID. Read the State of the Nation report now.
Position Statement
Clinical Guidelines Position Statement
It is a matter of urgency for Australia to update its clinical guidelines for ME/CFS, to ensure that Australian ME/CFS patients have access to the best possible care, based on current understanding of the condition and latest evidence.
Position Statement
Links between ME/CFS and Long COVID Position Statement
Emerge Australia recognises the close links between ME/CFS and Long COVID. Scientific studies indicate that the most frequent shared symptoms of people with Long COVID and people with ME/CFS are post-exertional malaise (PEM), cognitive difficulties and fatigue.
Position Statement
Diagnostic Criteria Position Statement
There are approximately 20 different sets of diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS which have been developed over the history of the disease. This has created inconsistency in research, as different diagnostic criteria result in participant samples which are not easily compared between studies.
Collaborative Research
Use ME/CFS knowledge to inform Long COVID and post-viral disease research. The burden of disease for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is significant because the condition is so disabling.
Australian Clinical Guidelines
Emerge Australia strongly advocates for the Australian ME/CFS Clinical Guidelines to be updated to remove GET and CBT as recommended treatment options in the recently released report, State of the Nation: Because people with ME/CFS matter.
Learn from the past and invest for the future
For years, our health system has systemically neglected and failed to meet the needs of those with ME/CFS. If the number of Australians with post-viral disease more than doubles, health services could be overwhelmed and our economy smashed – ME/CFS alone costs an estimated $14.8bn a year in healthcare and lost productivity.
The economic impact of Australia’s post-viral disease tsunami
Our policymakers must prepare now for the coming economic, health and social impacts of ME/CFS, Long COVID and other post-viral diseases.
250,000 Australians already live with ME/CFS and Deakin University predicts up to 325,000 more may develop Long COVID in the coming months. The human cost of post-viral diseases is obviously paramount, but the economic cost is also potentially devastating.
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