Ablashi, D V, Zompetta, C, Lease, C et al. · Canada diseases weekly report = Rapport hebdomadaire des maladies au Canada · 1991
This review article examines whether human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6), a common virus that infects most people in childhood, might be connected to ME/CFS. The authors gathered available evidence about HHV6 and its potential role in causing or contributing to chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms.
This early review was among the first to systematically examine HHV6 as a potential infectious trigger or contributing factor in ME/CFS, influencing subsequent research directions. Understanding viral involvement in ME/CFS remains important for developing targeted treatments and diagnostic biomarkers.
This review does not prove that HHV6 causes ME/CFS, as it compiles existing observations rather than presenting controlled experimental evidence. The article cannot establish causation versus correlation or explain why some HHV6-infected individuals develop CFS while others do not. Publication as a review rather than original research means findings depend entirely on the quality and completeness of reviewed studies.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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