Ablashi, D V, Berneman, Z N, Kramarsky, B et al. · Clinical and diagnostic virology · 1995 · DOI
This review article summarizes what scientists knew about human herpesvirus-7 (HHV-7) as of 1995, a newly discovered virus related to other common herpesviruses. HHV-7 was found in a chronic fatigue syndrome patient, along with healthy people, and is very common in the population (affecting over 85% of Americans). The virus has been linked to a few childhood rash illnesses and possibly some cases with liver involvement, but scientists had limited information about whether it causes ME/CFS.
This early review is historically significant because it documents one of the first reports of HHV-7 isolation from a ME/CFS patient, raising the question of whether this herpesvirus might contribute to ME/CFS pathogenesis. For ME/CFS researchers, understanding the timeline of investigations into viral associations is important context for evaluating the current state of evidence on herpesviruses and ME/CFS.
This review does not establish that HHV-7 causes ME/CFS; it documents only a single patient case from which HHV-7 was isolated. The study is descriptive and cannot determine causation, and the isolation from one CFS patient does not prove the virus is a primary driver of disease. No systematic prevalence comparison between ME/CFS patients and healthy controls is presented.
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 →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Ablashi, D V, Berneman, Z N, Kramarsky, B, Whitman, J, Asano, Y, & Pearson, G R (1995). Human herpesvirus-7 (HHV-7): current status.. Clinical and diagnostic virology. https://doi.org/10.1016/0928-0197(95)00005-s
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-ablashi-1995-human-herpesvirus,
author = {Ablashi, D V and Berneman, Z N and Kramarsky, B and Whitman, J and Asano, Y and Pearson, G R},
title = {Human herpesvirus-7 (HHV-7): current status.},
journal = {Clinical and diagnostic virology},
year = {1995},
doi = {10.1016/0928-0197(95)00005-s},
note = {PubMed: 15566823},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ablashi-1995-human-herpesvirus},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ablashi-1995-human-herpesvirus
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