The Human/Animal Interaction Of Chronic Fatigue And Immune Dysfunction Syndrome: A Look At 127 Patients And Their 463 Animals
By R. Tom Glass, D.D.S., Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Oral and Maxilofacial Pathology and Pathology University of Oklahoma, Health Sciences Center Tulsa, OK 74114
Throughout the recognized existence of Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome, anecdotal reports have linked domestic animals with CFIDS, but no formal scientific studies were reported (1,2). Cats and dogs were implicated by their owners most frequently. The usual association with the presence of the animal in the household of a CFIDS patient, followed by the development of strange diseases or dysfunctions in the animal, many of which mimic CFIDS. The severity of the diseases often necessitated euthanasia. In a fewer number of cases, the onset of CFIDS in the patient was associated with an exposure to a domestic animal which was later found to show signs of CFIDS.
Observations from my animal biopsy service demonstrate two interesting findings in animals of CFIDS patients (unpublished findings). Gingival biopsies from cats demonstrated an unusual epithelial viral vesicle associated with an equally unusual submucosal inflammatory response. Several melanomas were found in dogs of CFIDS patients which had the unique feature of a striking progression of the tumor in the absence of an inflammatory response.
Both dogs and cats are known to be susceptible to a wide range of viruses. With the exception of rabies, no zoonotic (animal to human or human to animal) viral infection transmission has been demonstrated between typical domestic animals and humans (3).
These observations and recognitions prompted the following questions:
- Do CFIDS patients have domestic animals (pets)?
- What is the interaction between CFIDS patients and their pets?
- Do the domestic animals have any clinical signs of CFIDS?
- What type of signs or manifestations of CFIDS do animals of CFIDS patients demonstrate?
- What is the relationship between the interaction of CFIDS patients and their animals and the onset and course of CFIDS?
