Galbraith, D N, Nairn, C, Clements, G B · The Journal of general virology · 1995 · DOI
Researchers looked for enterovirus genetic material in ME/CFS patients and compared it to viruses found in people with acute infections. Using genetic analysis, they found that most of the virus sequences from ME/CFS patients were novel and distinct from known enteroviruses. This suggests that some ME/CFS patients may have persistent enterovirus infections that are different from typical acute infections.
This work provides molecular evidence supporting the hypothesis that persistent enterovirus infection may play a role in some ME/CFS cases. If validated in larger studies, identifying novel enteroviral sequences could guide future diagnostic and therapeutic approaches targeting chronic viral infection in ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that enterovirus infection causes ME/CFS—it only demonstrates an association in the samples tested. It does not establish whether viral persistence is a primary cause, a consequence of immunodeficiency, or merely a bystander in disease pathogenesis. The study also does not rule out the possibility that these sequences represent laboratory artifacts or contamination.
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
Galbraith, D N, Nairn, C, & Clements, G B (1995). Phylogenetic analysis of short enteroviral sequences from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. The Journal of general virology. https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-76-7-1701
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-galbraith-1995-phylogenetic-analysis,
author = {Galbraith, D N and Nairn, C and Clements, G B},
title = {Phylogenetic analysis of short enteroviral sequences from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {The Journal of general virology},
year = {1995},
doi = {10.1099/0022-1317-76-7-1701},
note = {PubMed: 9049375},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/galbraith-1995-phylogenetic-analysis},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/galbraith-1995-phylogenetic-analysis
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