Interesting post on this in my inbox this morning:
Could Pesticides Cause ME?
ME – also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – could be, in part, caused by exposure to organophosphate pesticides and insecticides. Conditions with similar symptoms as ME were noticed in farm workers in the early 1960s and identified as neuro-behavioural abnormalities resulting from working with sheep dips and insecticides.
Peter Behan of the Institute of Neurological Sciences in Glasgow studied 10 patients suffering from neuro-behavioural symptoms for over a year and who had exposure to organophosphates through a sheep dip from between two and five years. Their symptoms included an acute influenza-like condition followed by incapacitating fatigue. In all cases, there was a long delay between exposure to the pesticides and the onset of the condition. This study was referenced in “Living with M.E.” by Charles Shepherd.
Source: Marilyn Glenville enews Aug 12