SICK-BUILDING-SYNDROME

CONCURRENT SICK BUILDING SYNDROME AND CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME: EPIDEMIC NEUROMYASTHENIS REVISITED

Cases of sick building syndrome (SBS) associated with the development of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) were described. Three apparent outbreaks of SBS were investigated: high school teachers in Elk Grove, California in 1989; federal government workers in Washington, D.C. in 1986; and high school teachers in Truckee, California in the 1980s. Reported symptoms included cough, headache, sore throat, fatigue, colds, sinusitis, dizziness, memory loss, and weakness. Illness deemed more serious than SBS was observed in nine of the 10 teachers who frequently used a single conference room in Truckee, five of the 22 responding teachers in Elk Grove, and nine of the 93 responding office workers in Washington, D.C. Individuals with severe fatigue tended to have symptoms of mucous membrane irritation characteristic of SBS; in addition, however, they frequently had neurological complaints not typical of SBS but characteristic of CFS. The authors conclude that CFS can apparently occur in the setting of SBS and may occur in predisposed individuals after exposure to noninfectious agents.

Clinical Infectious Diseases; 18(Suppl 1):S43-S48, 1994. (45 references)

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