From Stephanie Woodcock
Address withheld
It is not hard to find within your pages references to previously unknown
pathogens. For instance,
This Week (7 June, p 6) carries a report in which it is
stated that some cases of potentially fatal infections occurring in the US are
caused by “mystery pathogens”.
Again, in In Brief (14 June, p 13)
reference is made to pathogens in a
spider’s bite that are so far unidentified. Indeed, not so long ago you ran a
feature on the huge numbers of bacterial species that are unidentified because
they cannot be cultured (“Life unlimited”, 10 February 1996, p 26).
Is it not therefore ironic that your reviewer David Cohen connives with the
author Elaine Showalter in her complacency about illnesses thought to be
relatively new (Review, 14 June, p 45)?
What if it were to be the case that Gulf
War syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome were caused by one or more than one of
these same mystery pathogens? A pathogen does not have to be fatal or to raise a
generally detectable immune response to be a cause of morbidity.
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As a former microbiologist suffering from one of the illnesses spoken of, I
treated myself with enormous doses of antibiotics and improved dramatically. To
raise a cheap laugh by mocking disease activists is rather unworthy of your
magazine.
