Campbell-Tofte, Joan, Vrahatis, Aristidis, Josefsen, Knud et al. · Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2019 · DOI
This paper proposes a research approach to investigate whether HPV vaccine can cause ME/CFS-like symptoms in some people. The authors suggest using detailed blood and immune system tests to compare vaccinated people who experienced problems with unvaccinated people who have similar symptoms, to see if the vaccine is actually responsible. This type of detailed comparison could help identify who might be at risk and provide objective evidence about vaccine safety.
For ME/CFS patients, this work acknowledges vaccine-related adverse events as worthy of rigorous scientific investigation using modern immunological tools. For researchers, it provides a comprehensive framework for objectively evaluating causality and identifying at-risk populations, moving beyond anecdotal reports toward evidence-based understanding of any vaccine-ME/CFS relationship.
This paper does not present experimental data proving HPV vaccination causes ME/CFS—it only proposes how such investigation should be conducted. It does not establish causation, prevalence, or mechanism; it merely outlines a study design. The actual findings would depend on implementing this proposed methodology with appropriate cohorts.
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
Campbell-Tofte, Joan, Vrahatis, Aristidis, Josefsen, Knud, Mehlsen, Jesper, & Winther, Kaj (2019). Investigating the aetiology of adverse events following HPV vaccination with systems vaccinology.. Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-018-2925-6
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-campbell-tofte-2019-investigating-aetiology,
author = {Campbell-Tofte, Joan and Vrahatis, Aristidis and Josefsen, Knud and Mehlsen, Jesper and Winther, Kaj},
title = {Investigating the aetiology of adverse events following HPV vaccination with systems vaccinology.},
journal = {Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1007/s00018-018-2925-6},
note = {PubMed: 30324425},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/campbell-tofte-2019-investigating-aetiology},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/campbell-tofte-2019-investigating-aetiology
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