Mike’s EU Marathons for ME – Malta

I’ve been speaking to the Malta ME, CFS & Fibromyalgia Alliance about ME there and here’s a summary of my findings from talking with them and my own research.

Number of ME patients in Malta

There is no study or any estimates to show or at least a demarcation if there ever was any study to establish a percentage of how many ME sufferers there are there.  Some doctors say it is approx. 0.02 % same as in Europe.  Due to unwillingness to diagnose and lack of knowledge on ME, it’s difficult for doctors to give an accurate figure.

Health authorities awareness of ME and their perception

There is awareness to a certain extent about ME, thanks to the work of the NGO that had struggled hard to elucidate what the toll of suffering with the illness brings to those are afflicted by this disease. The professionals who are most conscious of ME are neurologists. However not all medical professionals recognise ME as a disease in its actual entity. Some doctors claim that it a psychiatric illness. It seems that when medicine fails to explain cryptic disease with no original cause, the alternative can often be to stigmatise patients.