Anonymous
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Search
Editing
1955 North of England outbreak
From MEpedia, a crowd-sourced encyclopedia of ME and CFS science and history
Namespaces
Page
Discussion
More
More
Page actions
Read
Edit
Edit source
History
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
In 1955, an extensive [[Epidemic myalgic encephalomyelitis|outbreak]] of [[myalgic encephalomyelitis]] in the North of England in 1955 was recorded. It primarily struck primary school children starting in February andspread to the adults in March and April. By July, 233 cases had been recorded. The male: female ratio was 1:1. Twenty children boarding at the Carlisle Corporation Home, Dalston, mainly boys aged 5 to 15 years, were all affected. Secondary attacks in contacts occurred in several families after a primary host relapsed, suggesting that the patient had again become infectious. Symptoms included: * swollen, tender lymph nodes, liver and spleen * marked fatigability * impairment of memory and concentration * changes of mood with behavior disorders in children * sleep disorders * irritability or depression * involvement of the autonomic nervous system resulting in [[Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome|orthostatic tachycardia]], coldness of the extremities, episodes of sweating or profound pallor, sluggish pupillary responses, constipation and frequency of micturition, possibly as the result of a [[Hypothalamus|hypothalamic]] disturbance * diffuse and variable involvement of the nervous system leading to [[ataxia]], weakness or sensory changes in a limb, nerve root or a peripheral nerve distribution, especially involving the [[ulnar nerve]] * muscle pain, tenderness and myasthenia * recurrences in about 20% of patients over a period of several years. Also observed were morphological changes in the [[Lymphocyte|lymphocytes]] with relative lymphocytosis and eosinophilia. In some cases the abnormal blood films persisted for at least 18 months. In most of the Dalston cases the onset was abrupt after an incubation period of 5 to 7 days, but some of the adults showed a delayed onset with the illness reaching the maximum severity after 6 weeks. Neurological symptoms occurred in 60% of the patients, but objective changes were mild and seen only in 20% of cases. There were ulnar nerve lesions in eight patients. Non-specific abnormalities were noted in the [[EEG|EEGs]] in fifteen of the twenty-three patients tested. The [[Cerebrospinal fluid|CSF]] was normal in the few examinations made. Virus studies were also negative. The case incidence and percentage of neurological involvement were similar to that observed in the [[List of myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome outbreaks#Switzerland|Swiss military epidemics]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal | last = Parish | first = JG | date = 1978 | title = Early outbreaks of 'epidemic neuromyasthenia' | url = https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/370810 | journal = Postgraduate Medical Journal | volume = 54 | pages = 711-7|via=}}</ref> ==See also == ==Learn more== == References == {{Reflist}} [[Category:History]] [[Category:Outbreaks]] [[Category:Outbreaks in the 1950s]] [[Category:Outbreaks in the United Kingdom]]
Summary:
Please make sure your edits are consistent with
MEpedia's guidelines
.
By saving changes, you agree to the
Terms of use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 3.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Templates used on this page:
Template:Cite journal
(
edit
)
Template:Main other
(
edit
)
Template:Reflist
(
edit
)
Module:Check for unknown parameters
(
edit
)
Module:Citation/CS1
(
edit
)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS
(
edit
)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration
(
edit
)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation
(
edit
)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers
(
edit
)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities
(
edit
)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist
(
edit
)
Module:No globals
(
edit
)
Navigation
Navigation
Skip to content
Main page
Browse
Become an editor
Random page
Popular pages
Abbreviations
Glossary
About MEpedia
Links for editors
Contents
Guidelines
Recent changes
Pages in need
Search
Help
Wiki tools
Wiki tools
Special pages
Page tools
Page tools
User page tools
More
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Page logs