Evengård, B, Briese, T, Lindh, G et al. · Journal of neurovirology · 1999 · DOI
Researchers tested whether a virus called Borna disease virus (BDV) might be causing ME/CFS in Swedish patients. They examined blood samples from 169 patients and 62 healthy controls using two different detection methods—one looking for antibodies (immune system markers) and another looking for viral genetic material. They found no evidence of BDV in any of the patient samples, suggesting this particular virus is not responsible for ME/CFS.
Since an infectious trigger for ME/CFS has long been suspected, systematically testing candidate viral agents—including novel neurotropic viruses like BDV—helps narrow the search for causal or contributing factors. Ruling out BDV redirects research efforts toward other promising viral and microbial candidates, accelerating the identification of potential disease mechanisms.
A negative result does not rule out BDV involvement in other ME/CFS populations (geographic variation, population genetics, or assay sensitivity differences may apply). It also does not establish that ME/CFS is definitively non-infectious; other pathogens remain under investigation. Additionally, the absence of current infection does not exclude past infection as a trigger for chronic dysfunction.
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
Evengård, B, Briese, T, Lindh, G, Lee, S, & Lipkin, W I (1999). Absence of evidence of Borna disease virus infection in Swedish patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Journal of neurovirology. https://doi.org/10.3109/13550289909045378
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-evengrd-1999-absence-evidence,
author = {Evengård, B and Briese, T and Lindh, G and Lee, S and Lipkin, W I},
title = {Absence of evidence of Borna disease virus infection in Swedish patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of neurovirology},
year = {1999},
doi = {10.3109/13550289909045378},
note = {PubMed: 10568886},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/evengrd-1999-absence-evidence},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/evengrd-1999-absence-evidence
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