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Monday, April 1, 2013

CDC Issues Formal Apology to CFS/ME Sufferers, Changes Name

Unexpected Decision Signals the End of an Error


By A. Lotta Blarney

April 1, 2013. The Atlanta Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a surprise statement this morning, announcing that it was changing the name of the disease formerly known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) to Post-Infectious Low Energy Syndrome.

“The CDC feels that PILES more accurately reflects the seriousness with which we take this illness,” said CDC director, Thomas Frieden, in a press conference held early this morning. “We are sorry for the decades of misunderstanding caused by the use of the word ‘fatigue.’”

The CFIDS Association of America, while voicing its approval over the removal of the “f” word, expressed some reservations in a tweet to its 1400 followers. “Fatigue gone, now have piles.”

Though the AMA declined to comment, the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery welcomed the change in nomenclature, citing its years of experience in treating illnesses of a similar nature.

The CDC concurred. “People with PILES now have their own specialized branch of medicine,” said Frieden. “This is a name we can all get behind.”