Elke Hausmann
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drelke.bsky.social
Elke Hausmann
@drelke.bsky.social
440 followers 450 following 1.2K posts
German, English, Spanish
Sociology, Medicine, General Practice
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Elke Hausmann @drelke.bsky.social · Jul 24
It’s a lengthy read, but that’s what we‘ll get to:

‚We need a greater recognition from society and politics of what the Covid virus can do to bodies, long-term.

Above all, what we need is liberation from judgements.‘

#LongCovid
bjgp.bsky.social BJGP @bjgp.bsky.social · Jul 24
BJGPLife: Long Covid and the body: can we move beyond judgements?
bjgplife.com/long-co...

#GeneralPractice #PrimaryCare #FamilyMedicine
drelke.bsky.social
#Measles
#vaccinations
The amazing, incredible consequence of years of high rates of Measles vaccination was that for 20 or so years in England, Measles essentially disappeared. In 2016, almost fifteen years after Wakefield, The World Health Organization declared Measles eliminated (no or very little local transmission) in England. We'd gone from hundreds of thousands of cases, and hundreds of deaths a year before vaccination to basically none. But nationally, by 2025 only 84% of 5-year olds had had 2 doses of MMR, a long way off the 95% threshold required to keep Measles eliminated. So while 96 cases in the first few weeks of 2026 may not be a huge number, it is worrying because the susceptible population is growing not shrinking and providing more room for local epidemics to grow. Measles is a serious illness and the more it spreads, the more likely people will develop complications or even die. In 2024, 5 people died from Measles (including 1 child), and last year saw 2 Measles deaths (including 1 child) (UKHSA data). And when it comes down to it, 96 cases in just a few weeks is huge when we know it can be zero or close to zero. There mustn't be any shrugging of shoulders, or acceptance of these outbreaks. We know that they are avoidable because we did avoid them - for years, and not long ago.
February 17, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
thesicktimes.org
Emily Mendenhall’s new book, Invisible Illness — which promises a history of poorly understood chronic conditions — fails to convey the severity of infection-associated chronic conditions, demands for treatment, or importance of infection prevention. bit.ly/3MO4BGZ
A graphic displays the 5th century BCE marble relief art “Ascelpius or Hippocrates treating and ill woman”. In the scene, a man touches the shoulder of a woman lying down as four other people stand by and watch. The text reads, “The Sick Times. “Invisible Illness” could have been transgressive. Instead, it minimizes Long COVID. The book fails to convey the severity of infection-associated chronic conditions, demands for treatment, or importance of infection prevention. By Shielding Cournoyer.” While certain factors increase risks, infections disable the able-bodied, too. Denying that fact means placing public health failures on the bodies of disabled people. Public health is off the hook if the problem is never one infection, but always, instead, “You’re kind of a hot mess.”
February 16, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
longcovidadvoc.com
But we won't offer a vaccination for Covid for kids despite it being one of the most devastating illnesses of modern times..
Or admit that minimising vaccination for Covid has meant a weakening of uptake of all vaccinations
#measles
ukhsa.bsky.social UK Health Security Agency @ukhsa.bsky.social · 1d
🆕 We’re excited to announce the launch of a new government campaign urging parents and guardians to get their little ones vaccinated to protect against serious illnesses such as measles.
🔗 nhs.uk/childhoodvaccinations
#StayStrongGetVaccinated
An image of a child wrapped in cotton wool, playing in a colourful ball pit. The text reads: “Wrap your children up with the best protection – vaccinations. Stay strong. Get vaccinated.”
February 17, 2026 at 7:04 AM
drelke.bsky.social
#LongCovid
#ME
Most notably, Mendenhall's vision does not include a call for ramping up research programs into biological causes and treatments of these complex chronic conditions. That's what patients—at least the ones I know-desire more than anything. Given this absence as well as the book's overall orientation, it is not surprising that many in the patient community have flatly rejected it.
February 16, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
mausch.bsky.social
Eine gute Nachricht, denn diese Ambulanz hätte #LongCovid -Patient:innen nicht geholfen, sondern sie weiter als psychisch Kranke stigmatisiert.

Having said that, natürlich bedarf es dringend neuer LongCovid-Ambulanzen. Nur halt nicht in der Psychiatrie.
February 16, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
westonmale.bsky.social
Story archived here (very tough read by Eleanor Hayward, chief reporter at The Times):
archive.ph/J3Xv3
#mecfs #me/cfs #Savannah #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis
February 16, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
taniaspencer.bsky.social
If you have #LongCOVID, you might want to skip this book - written by a neurologist, whose book, The Age of Diagnosis, "ostensibly makes the case for Long Covid being a (predominantly) psychosomatic condition":

@drelke.bsky.social

bjgplife.com/suzanne-osul...
Suzanne O’Sullivan’s new book ‘The Age of Diagnosis’ and her curious characterisation of Long Covid as a psychosomatic condition – BJGP Life
bjgplife.com
February 14, 2026 at 6:32 PM
drelke.bsky.social
As Shielding Cournoyer writes: ‚good histories of medicine are always transgressive, illuminating the politics behind treatments later seen as neutral science‘.

On Mendenhall’s ‚domesticating narrative‘ in her book ‚Invisible Illness‘:

#LongCovid
#ME
,Public Health is off the hook if the problem is never one infection' ,Societal investment in clean air never appears alongside Mendenhall's endorsement of meditation' On CBT and GET - ,both therapies are ultimately vindicated in Mendenhall's telling' We are left with the impression that some patients would rather tear down the only ME treatment available than give healing a try' , She never seems to grasp the stakes for the most vulnerable among the groups she examines' ‚That the sickest patients' survival may hinge on a cure, and that virology may provide it, is beside her point' Erased are the people for whom pacing means survival, not catharsis' ,It ignores the injustice of letting people die of preventable illness'
February 15, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
abrokenbattery.bsky.social
Part 2 German TV segment (5 mins) English subs
Studio discussion on ME/CFS and severe Long Covid. Dr Gödike talks about the range of illness severity, home visits for severely affected patients, and current research into ME/CFS and post-Covid conditions.

youtu.be/NieATJ19ybg?...
February 12, 2026 at 5:12 PM
drelke.bsky.social
How many people like this doctor are walking around thinking that ‚maybe this was what being in my mid-30s entailed: I had begun an early neurocognitive decline, and that was that‘.

#LongCovid underdiagnosis
The word-finding difficulties were the most debilitating and bothersome to me. I often found myself frozen in time, unable to verbalize words that were familiar to me, while delivering patient reports or presentations to my supervisors or in casual conversations. I had the words in my mind and could visualize them, but I simply could not verbalize them. I was unable to piece together what was happening to me. I thought that maybe this was what being in my mid-30s entailed: I had begun an early neurocognitive decline, and that was that. However, I was determined to not let these symptoms beat me. I decided to do something about the situation. Since coming to terms with long COVID, I have had many conversations with family members and friends who have reported similar symptoms that followed their acute COVID-19 illness, persisting for months and even years. They too have realized that they have been casualties of COVID-19 and have been suffering with long COVID well after their acute infection.
February 13, 2026 at 7:05 AM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
turnoftheshrew.bsky.social
“Patients are just happy to be believed.” NO. That talking point accomplishes nothing but soothing healthy people into thinking somehow any of this is okay. The care is beyond inadequate. I have never needed someone to confirm my own lived experiences. I need medical treatment. #MECFS #LongCovid
February 13, 2026 at 12:32 AM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
tomkindlon.bsky.social
Figure showing impairments in people with #MECFS are mainly in the non-mental health/emotional health areas

"Median SF36v2 scores among all study participants over the 12-month study period when compared with Australian population norms"

#CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome
"Median SF-36v2 scores among all study participants over the 12-month study period when compared with Australian population norms." Abbreviations: PwME/CFS People with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; SF36v2 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey version
January 4, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
abrokenbattery.bsky.social
Clip from German TV.

Julia developed ME/CFS after Covid in 2022. She is one of around 600,000 people in Germany living with the condition. It can be severely disabling, some mornings she can’t even get to the toilet without help. #MECFS #LongCovid
February 12, 2026 at 9:13 AM
drelke.bsky.social
I have more questions…

#LongCovid
#ME
Is Long Covid with PEM simply ME? Or is Long Covid with PEM the intersection of a Venn diagram, with features of Long Covid without PEM and features of ME? If so, is it closer to Long Covid without PEM, or to ME? Is it different for different individuals? Is there a separate underlying pathophysiology for Long Covid without PEM, or is the same pathophysiology present, but PEM just not clinically apparent yet? Is that why people get worse with subsequent infections: they are further down the road of the underlying pathophysiology becoming clinically relevant? If so, could physical rehabilitation eg GET in patients with Long Covid without PEM trigger the clinical appearance of PEM? Is Long Covid without PEM on a continuum with ME, just a very early stage of it? Is Long Covid without PEM something separate that people can truly and fully recover from without long term consequences? Is Long Covid with clinically apparent PEM the rule or the exception among Long Covid patients? Can Long Covid without PEM be divided into different subgroups - if so, is their underlying pathophysiology the same, but with different clinical presentations, or are there different pathophysiological processes driving different phenotypes? Should we think of PAIS generally as a spectrum of disease or a collection of different diseases?
February 12, 2026 at 7:15 AM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
elisaperego78.bsky.social
covid-19 is “a vascular disease masquerading as a respiratory one”

BMJ

www.bmj.com/content/392/...
Why covid-19 is “a vascular disease masquerading as a respiratory one”
Covid-19 is not just a respiratory infection. Cardiovascular symptoms are seen in both acute and long covid. Katharine Lang reports on what we’ve learnt since the onset of the pandemic Cardiovascular...
www.bmj.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
rfh1955.bsky.social
Ashwin Prasad is at a loss as to why so many people in the UK are off work through sickness.

Could some of the #longcovid groups tell him in no uncertain terms?
February 10, 2026 at 5:05 PM
drelke.bsky.social
Interesting.

I can think of other areas that could be analysed through the lens of ‚toxic experts‘

#LongCovid
#ME
Table I. Virtue-based framework of professional and intellectual vices in toxic experts. Organised along Domains (professional and intellectual) Virtue Vice (Excess) Vice (Deficiency) Manifestation example in toxic experts Professional (Domain) with subcategories: Honesty (example Virtue) Oversharing (example Vice -excess) Deception (example Vice -deficiency) Deliberate falsification of data or credentials (Fanelli, 2009) (manifestation example in toxic experts) Integrity Rigidity Opportunism Exploiting vulnerabilities for gain, undisclosed conflicts of interest (Kish-Gephart et al., 2010) Confidence Hubris Diffidence Destruction of value due to unchallenged overconfidence (Maclean et al., Humility Self-deprecation Arrogance Overestimation of one's expertise beyond areas of competence (Russell and Greenhalgh, 2014) Intellectual (domain) - with subcategories: Open-mindedness Gullibility Dogmatism Rigid adherence to beliefs despite contradictory evidence (Mercier and Sperber, 2011) Diligence Pedantry Intellectual sloth Failure to rigorously scrutinize assumptions and methods (Paul and Elder, 2006) Objectivity Detachment Motivated reasoning Selective interpretation of information to suit personal biases (Kunda, 1990) Intellectual courage Recklessness Cowardice ersisting in discredited theories or avoiding necessary intellectual risks (Greenhalgh et al., 202l, 2022)
February 11, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
valebodi.bsky.social
The German Accident Insurance (Deutsche Unfallversicherung) forces people with #MECFS to undergo diagnostic tests as part of the evidence gathering process for expert opinions, tests that can be extremely harmful to the patients – my exclusive investigation @riffreporter.bsky.social is available ⬇️
February 10, 2026 at 10:14 PM
drelke.bsky.social
#LongCovid
#ME
The 2026 games put a spotlight on how collective public health failures of governments and the IOC have made specific teams and athletes take their own precautions as the world continues to ignore the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many disabled and immunocompromised people, these athletes and teams are forced to put their health first, despite overwhelming stigma against masking and other COVID-19 precautions and despite the overwhelming research that shows the adverse effects of SARS-CoV- 2 infections.
February 11, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
tomkindlon.bsky.social
The potential causes of myasthenia and fasciculations in severely ill ME/CFS patients: the role of disturbed electrophysiology

www.frontiersin.org/journals/phy...

Screenshot from latest Science for ME weekly update

#MEcfs #CFS #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigueSyndrome
The potential causes of myasthenia and fasciculations in severely ill ME/CFS patients: the role of disturbed electrophysiology — Wirth and Steinacker Hypothesis paper. "Insufficient Na+/K+ -ATPase activity can explain mitochondrial dysfunction via sodium-induced calcium overload" "It may also contribute to a vicious circle that increases sodium loading through inappropriate excitations, further increasing mitochondrial damage through calcium overload."
February 11, 2026 at 1:42 AM
Reposted by Elke Hausmann
longcovidadvoc.com
Our Mendenhall, Wessely article is finally on the website (excuse the delay, it was a plate spinning moment!)

www.longcovidadvoc.com/post/wessely...
Wessely, Mendenhall and the Reproduction of Medical Power
Invisible Illness by Emily Mendenhall could have been a holy grail for the community: a person with epistemic authority, a strong social ethic, inspired to write from a personal and relational…
www.longcovidadvoc.com
February 11, 2026 at 8:37 AM
drelke.bsky.social
30 years later, the exact same argument was reproduced by Suzanne O‘Sullivan in her chapter on Long Covid in ‚The Age of Diagnosis‘, plucked out of thin air, for all I know: ok, some few people have real organic disease, but for the vast majority it’s psychosomatic. Yeah, right.

#LongCovid
#ME
rfh1955.bsky.social Royal Free 1955 @rfh1955.bsky.social · 6d
The Toronto Star. 11th February 1992.

Edward Shorter "...believes it's a waste of taxpayers' money to incessantly continue to give patients x-rays, blood tests, spinal taps or exploratory surgery if there is nothing wrong organically."

#mecfs #longcovid #lyme #cfsme
February 11, 2026 at 9:51 AM
drelke.bsky.social
@davetuller1.bsky.social quoting @anilvanderzee.bsky.social

The times, they are a-changin’?

On some tentatively hopeful signs…

#LongCovid
#ME
Last month, he posted a blog titled "Are Dutch psychologists distancing themselves from graded activity in ME/CFS?" It is a thorough (and therefore fairly lengthy) analysis that covers some of the key studies purporting to document the benefits of CBT as well as recent indications that some leading professionals might be shifting their views. (In the Netherlands, CBT for ME/CFS and related conditions is generally combined with graded activity.) Here's the opening: "Clinical psychologists and cognitive behavioral therapists Klaas Huijbregts and Luuk Stronk wrote an interesting_yet critical piece the journal Behavioural Therapy (Gedragstherapie) about the current way in which "ME/CFS" patients are treated through a rigid adherence to a protocolled form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). They argue that this goes against the principles of CBT and that this form of CBT more often leads to iatrogenic harm...Whereas Huijbregts previously wrote with great astonishment about the negative attitude toward CBT, and tried to straighten out several things that were fundamentally flawed, this new article suggests that, with growing insight, a few more pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place.
February 11, 2026 at 9:22 AM
drelke.bsky.social
‚Systemic exertion intolerance disease‘, 2015 - if only…

#LongCovid
#ME
rfh1955.bsky.social Royal Free 1955 @rfh1955.bsky.social · 6d
The Times-Tribune, Pennsylvania.
11th February 2015.

#cfsme #myalgicencephalomyelitis #myalgice #mecfs
February 11, 2026 at 9:11 AM
drelke.bsky.social
A harrowing account of applying for care funding for severe ME

#LongCovid
#ME
In my view, a lack of knowledge about ME has also been influential; in particular, a lack of understanding that PEM can lead to long-term deterioration (and has done on several occasions, in James' case). This means that the risks involved in his care and the level of complexity have not been recognised, and nor has the extent of his limitations. Most difficult to read in our most recent rejection was a persistent framing of James' needs as preferences: that he prefers not to verbalise and that he does not like having people in his room with him. Would they say someone with a severe nut allergy does not like peanut butter? That an asthmatic prefers not to breathe?
February 10, 2026 at 10:37 AM