Agut, H, Aubin, J T · La Revue du praticien · 1994
Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is a virus discovered in 1986 that infects most people during childhood and stays in the body for life. It normally causes fever and rash in infants, but researchers have wondered whether it might play a role in chronic fatigue syndrome and other conditions, though this connection remains unclear. Some antiviral medications like ganciclovir appear to work against HHV-6 in laboratory tests.
HHV-6 has long been suspected as a potential contributor to ME/CFS pathogenesis, making basic virology and epidemiological understanding important for researchers. This foundational review clarifies what was known about HHV-6 by the early 1990s and acknowledges the unresolved question of its role in chronic fatigue syndrome.
This review does not establish that HHV-6 causes ME/CFS or even that it plays a significant role in the condition—the authors explicitly state this relationship is controversial and unproven. It does not present epidemiological comparisons between ME/CFS patients and controls, nor does it demonstrate causation or even consistent association in ME/CFS populations.
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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