Bell, E J, McCartney, R A · The Journal of hygiene · 1984 · DOI
Over 12 years, researchers tested blood samples from patients with various illnesses to see if they had been infected with Coxsackie B virus. They found that people with ME/CFS were more likely to have evidence of this virus infection (41% of well-documented ME patients) compared to healthy people (4%). This suggests Coxsackie B virus might play a role in some ME/CFS cases, though the study cannot prove the virus causes the illness.
This is one of the earlier systematic investigations linking Coxsackie B virus to ME/CFS, providing foundational serological evidence that has influenced decades of subsequent viral research in ME/CFS. The tenfold increase in CBV antibodies in well-documented ME patients compared to healthy controls remains a key reference point for discussions about infectious triggers in ME/CFS pathogenesis.
This study shows correlation between CBV antibodies and ME/CFS diagnosis, not causation—elevated antibodies could reflect past infection rather than active virus causing current disease. The study does not establish whether CBV infection triggers ME/CFS onset, perpetuates illness, or is simply more common in people who later develop ME/CFS. No assessment of symptom severity, disease duration, or functional outcomes relative to CBV status was provided.
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
Bell, E J & McCartney, R A (1984). A study of Coxsackie B virus infections, 1972-1983.. The Journal of hygiene. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022172400064718
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bell-1984-study-coxsackie,
author = {Bell, E J and McCartney, R A},
title = {A study of Coxsackie B virus infections, 1972-1983.},
journal = {The Journal of hygiene},
year = {1984},
doi = {10.1017/s0022172400064718},
note = {PubMed: 6094660},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bell-1984-study-coxsackie},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bell-1984-study-coxsackie
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.