{"id":12609,"date":"2017-04-21T06:43:12","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T06:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/?p=12609"},"modified":"2017-04-21T06:43:12","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T06:43:12","slug":"help-secure-the-world-health-organisations-classification-of-me-cfs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wames.org.uk\/cms-english\/help-secure-the-world-health-organisations-classification-of-me-cfs\/","title":{"rendered":"Help secure the World Health Organisation\u2019s classification of ME & CFS"},"content":{"rendered":"

ME action<\/strong> blog post: Help secure the World Health Organisation\u2019s classification of ME & CFS <\/a><\/p>\n

Important call to action! We need all hands on deck for a simple, but important task.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is reviewing its International Classification of Disease (ICD) for its upcoming 11th edition (ICD-11). There has been enormous concern about what was going to happen to how ME & CFS are classified in the new edition.<\/p>\n

Suzy Chapman & Mary Dimmock have been working tirelessly on this issue, and they need our help. They need people to go into the ICD system and agree with their proposal and\/or make a comment.\u00a0Read their full proposal here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Chapman and Dimmock recommend that the disease be listed as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for the \u201cconcept titles\u201d for the disease. (The disease was previously indexed as \u201cBenign Myalgic Encephalomyelitis\u201d and \u201cPostviral Fatigue Syndrome.\u201d The recommendation is to change those titles since the disease is not benign, and not all cases are postviral. Postviral Fatigue Syndrome will be listed as a synonym of the disease.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also being recommended\u00a0that ME and CFS \u00a0be retained under Chapter 08: \u201cDiseases of the nervous system\u201d and \u201cOther disorders of the nervous system.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ICD-10 first came into use in 1994, with countries gradually adopting it over time. (The U.S. adopted the ICD-10 in 2015). It is only now being updated to the ICD-11, which means that the classifications for ME and CFS in ICD-11 will last a long time. It\u2019s crucial that we take action now!<\/p>\n

The deadline for comments on the\u00a0ICD-11 is not yet clear but the sooner we submit our comments, the better to ensure that ME and CFS are properly classified in the new edition.<\/p>\n

Follow these steps to show support for the classification:<\/strong>
\n1<\/strong>. Register at this link.<\/a><\/p>\n

(Note: you may find that you can\u2019t complete the registration form without naming an organisation to which you belong. You could consider registering as a #MEAction member or as member of a Facebook group.)<\/p>\n

If you are having problems negotiating the registration page, check out short WHO tutorial.<\/a><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Click on this link<\/a> to see the proposal.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>.\u00a0Scroll down through the proposal to the bottom where you\u2019ll see: \u201cAgree\u201d and \u201cDisagree\u201d buttons.<\/p>\n

Click \u201cAgree.\u201d<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> There is also an \u201cAdd comment\u201d button, where you can add a comment. You\u2019ll see comments from other people there. While it is not essential to add a comment, it is a good idea as some of the \u201cAgrees\u201d have disappeared from the system (there may be a bug in the form; no comments have disappeared). Adding a simple comment like, \u201cI agree with this proposal,\u201d will ensure that your support remains visible.<\/p>\n

If you would like to make a more elaborate comment, the following are key points from the proposal, which you could use:<\/p>\n