Ariza, Maria Eugenia, Mena Palomo, Irene, Williams, Marshall V · Viruses · 2025 · DOI
This review examines whether ME/CFS might be caused by multiple herpes viruses working together, rather than a single virus. The researchers point out that many people develop ME/CFS after flu-like illnesses, suggesting viruses play a role, but scientists haven't found just one virus responsible. The study suggests that herpes viruses might cause ME/CFS through a special type of incomplete replication that hasn't been fully studied before.
Understanding whether multiple herpes viruses contribute to ME/CFS could reshape diagnostic and treatment approaches, moving beyond the search for a single causative agent. This hypothesis may explain why some patients have different viral profiles and why antiviral strategies targeting individual viruses have shown limited efficacy. Recognizing poly-herpesvirus involvement could open new therapeutic avenues targeting viral reactivation or persistent incomplete replication.
This review does not establish causal links between herpes viruses and ME/CFS—it presents a hypothesis requiring experimental validation. It does not provide clinical diagnostic criteria or demonstrate that treating herpes viruses will resolve ME/CFS symptoms. The abortive lytic replication mechanism remains theoretical and has not been directly demonstrated in ME/CFS patient samples.
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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Primary citation
Ariza, Maria Eugenia, Mena Palomo, Irene, & Williams, Marshall V (2025). Does Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Represent a Poly-Herpesvirus Post-Virus Infectious Disease?. Viruses. https://doi.org/10.3390/v17121624
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-ariza-2025-does-myalgic,
author = {Ariza, Maria Eugenia and Mena Palomo, Irene and Williams, Marshall V},
title = {Does Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Represent a Poly-Herpesvirus Post-Virus Infectious Disease?},
journal = {Viruses},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.3390/v17121624},
note = {PubMed: 41472292},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ariza-2025-does-myalgic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ariza-2025-does-myalgic
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