Sokolovska, Liba, Cistjakovs, Maksims, Matroze, Asnate et al. · Microorganisms · 2024 · DOI
This review examines how Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), a virus that most people carry, might trigger autoimmune diseases where the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own cells. The virus can hide in the body for years and reactivate later, and it appears to interfere with immune system function. Researchers found evidence linking HHV-6 to several autoimmune conditions, including multiple sclerosis and thyroid disease.
Understanding whether and how HHV-6 contributes to autoimmune disease development is directly relevant to ME/CFS, as many patients report viral infection preceding symptom onset and some ME/CFS researchers have investigated herpesvirus reactivation. If HHV-6 plays a role in triggering or perpetuating autoimmune-like dysregulation in ME/CFS, this could open new diagnostic and therapeutic avenues.
This review does not prove that HHV-6 causes autoimmune diseases or ME/CFS—it summarizes correlational evidence and proposed mechanisms without establishing causality. The presence of a virus in affected tissues does not confirm that the virus initiated the disease. Individual studies cited may vary in quality, and the review does not perform a systematic meta-analysis with effect sizes.
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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