Royal Free Hospital - Royal Free Disease

Royal Free Disease

In 1955 an apparent outbreak of an infectious illness categorised with a fever and subsequent persisting fatigue affected 292 members of staff and forced the hospital's closure between 25 July and 5 October. In the 1980s there was some debate as to whether the episode was of an infectious cause, or just an example of mass hysteria. The outbreak turned out to be a notable case in the UK of myalgic encephalomyelitis and resulted in the coining of that disease name.

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