Sophia Mirza

Sophia Mirza (1973-2005) was a woman in the United Kingdom who suffered from myalgic encephalomyelitis. She was the first patient in the UK to have ME listed as a cause of her death.

Illness
Sophia suffered two car crashes as a teenager and was hospitalized with meningitis. At age 19, she had multiple vaccinations before traveling to Africa for work, where she twice had malaria. She fell ill with ME after an apparent flu-like illness.

Inquest
Summary by: Invest In ME

"Today, 13th June 2006, the inquest into the death of Sophia Mirza was held in Brighton Coroners Court, England.

The cause of death was stated as 'The verdict was Acute aneuric renal failure due to dehydration arising as a result of CFS'

Two pathologists could not agree which name to use - CFS, ME or ME/CFS.

In the end it was stated that CFS is a modern word for ME.

This is why CFS was used on the death certificate.

The pathologist also said - 'ME describes inflammation of the spinal cord and muscles. My work supports the inflammation theory. There was inflammation in the basal root ganglia.'"

Invest In ME The Inquest in the Death of Sophia Mirza

TV News Coverage
itv Meridian Tonight

"Late M.E. sufferer Sophia Mirza"

Video 1

Video 2

"UK: Psychiatric Industry Victim (Part2)"

Video 3

Written Media
The Irish Times

"I never imagined my sister would die"

"BEFORE MY sister Sophia got Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), I had subconsciously developed a disparaging view of the disease. The little I knew about ME at the turn of the century was from how it had been portrayed in the tabloid press.

ME had been painted as some kind of luxury illness, labelled “yuppie flu”. It seemed a very boring disease and I can’t say I had any interest in it.

I had got the impression ME was kind of a sabbatical illness, an excuse for a few weeks off work to recharge the batteries. So when my mum told me Sophia had ME, I wasn’t that worried."

New Scientist

First official UK death from chronic fatigue syndrome

"Chronic fatigue syndrome has been given as an official cause of death for the first time in the UK. CFS, which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), has occasionally been recorded on death certificates in the US and Australia but it is far from being accepted as an organic disease.

On Tuesday, coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley of Brighton and Hove Coroners Court, UK, recorded the cause of death of a 32-year-old woman as acute aneuric renal failure (failure to produce urine) due to dehydration as a result of CFS. The deceased woman, Sophia Mirza, had suffered from CFS for six years."

Facebook Page
"Sophia Mirza (1973–25 November 2005) was a person in the United Kingdom who died as a complication of chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis in the UK). An inquest was conducted to determine her cause of death, with the coroner ultimately recording it as acute renal failure due to dehydration, caused by CFS. Advocacy groups such as Invest in ME and the ME Association say that Mirza's inquest shows that CFS is a neurological illness."

Web Site
Site created by Sophia's mother to commemorate her daughter's life, illness and passing.