Situation of ME/CFS affected persons in Austria
ME/CFS affected persons are hardly cared for in the Austrian health care system and are not sufficiently covered by the social system.  
One of the biggest challenges for affected people is getting the correct diagnosis. Due to the low awareness of the disease, 84-90% of affected individuals are not (correctly) diagnosed [2,3]. Most often, ME/CFS is mistaken for a mental illness, which leads not only to incorrect, but often also harmful treatment. In Austria, affected individuals take about 5-8 years on average to receive an accurate ME/CFS diagnosis [4]. 
Even after appropriate diagnosis, affected persons are inadequately cared for and protected. There are neither publicly funded contact points, counseling services, support services, nor rehabilitation and care facilities. In socio-legal proceedings, the diagnosis of ME/CFS is usually not recognized despite mandatory ICD coding (ICD-10 G93.3). The severity of the disease, the lack of care and the lack of official recognition of ME/CFS often lead to dramatic financial and social situations for those affected.
Exacerbation of the situation due to Covid-19.
Although the exact causes of ME/CFS have not been adequately elucidated due to the lack of research and insufficient research funding, data show that in a large proportion of cases, the disease begins with an infection. International studies therefore link ME/CFS and long covid and show great similarities in symptoms and underlying mechanisms. Researchers hypothesize that a substantial proportion of covid sufferers may be left with ME/CFS [5,6]. The current covid pandemic highlights the long-term consequences of postviral disease through the large number of people affected, and highlights the extent to which ME/CFS has been neglected in care and research to date.
Link to the detailed petition text incl. statements of Austrian physicians and researchers: https://cfs-hilfe.at/petition/ 
 
Sources
[1] Lim, E. J. et al. (2021). Systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). J. Transl. Med., 2020, 18, 100. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-020-02269-0
[2] Jason, L. A. et al. (2006a) The face of CFS in the U.S. CFIDS Chronicle 16-21. Link: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Leonard_Jason/publication/236995875_
[3] Solomon, L., and W. C. Reeves. 2004. Factors influencing the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. Archives of Internal Medicine 164(20), 2241. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.164.20.2241 
[4] Österreichische Gesellschaft für ME/CFS (2021) ME/CRS Report Österreich 2021. https://cfs-hilfe.at/report-2021/
[5] Kedor, C. et al. (2021). Chronic COVID-19 Syndrome and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) following the first pandemic wave in Germany: a first analysis of a prospective observational study. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.06.21249256 
[6] Komaroff, A. L., & Bateman, L. (2021). Will COVID-19 lead to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome?. Frontiers in Medicine, 7, 1132. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2020.606824
Thank you very much for your support, Österreichische Gesellschaft für ME/CFS , vienna.
This translation does not raise a claim in accurateness and completeness.