Nasralla, M, Haier, J, Nicolson, G L · European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 1999 · DOI
Researchers tested blood samples from 91 patients with ME/CFS and/or fibromyalgia who already tested positive for mycoplasma bacteria. They found that most patients carried multiple types of mycoplasma—particularly Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma fermentans—and some patients had two or even three different mycoplasma species at the same time. Patients with multiple infections tended to have been sick longer, suggesting they may have picked up additional infections over time.
This research explores a potential infectious trigger in ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, specifically documenting that mycoplasmal co-infections are common in affected patients. Understanding the types and combinations of mycoplasma present may inform future treatment strategies and help explain symptom severity and disease progression in some patients.
This study does not establish that mycoplasma infections cause ME/CFS or fibromyalgia—only that they co-exist in affected patients. The cross-sectional design and enrollment of only mycoplasma-positive patients cannot determine whether these infections precede, follow, or contribute to disease development. The study also cannot establish whether treating these infections would improve patient outcomes.
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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