Guichard, Eva, Juchet, Sylvain, Etafo, Ijeoma Chukwudumebi et al. · The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2026 · DOI
This study followed 882 people who recovered from Lassa fever (a serious viral infection) after hospital discharge to see what long-term symptoms they experienced. Most survivors felt better within about 3 weeks after leaving the hospital, with the most common lingering symptoms being tiredness, headaches, and difficulty with physical activity. The good news is that serious complications like hearing loss were rare, affecting only 2% of survivors.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS research because it systematically characterizes post-viral fatigue and post-exertional malaise in a large cohort of viral infection survivors, conditions that closely mirror ME/CFS symptoms. Understanding the natural recovery trajectory and symptom patterns in another post-viral illness may inform mechanistic insights and therapeutic approaches for ME/CFS pathogenesis and long-term management.
This study does not prove that Lassa fever survivors and ME/CFS patients experience identical pathophysiology or recovery patterns, nor does it establish causative mechanisms for post-exertional malaise. The predominance of patient-reported symptoms without objective biomarkers or validated fatigue scales limits conclusions about the severity and pathological basis of symptoms. Additionally, the relatively short median follow-up period may not capture all delayed or chronic sequelae.
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
Guichard, Eva, Juchet, Sylvain, Etafo, Ijeoma Chukwudumebi, Serra, Béatrice, Gabillard, Delphine, Abejegah, Chukwuyem, et al. (2026). Post-discharge sequelae of Lassa fever survivors in Nigeria: an analysis of the LASCOPE prospective cohort.. The Lancet. Infectious diseases. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(26)00057-5
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-guichard-2026-post-discharge,
author = {Guichard, Eva and Juchet, Sylvain and Etafo, Ijeoma Chukwudumebi and Serra, Béatrice and Gabillard, Delphine and Abejegah, Chukwuyem and Abidoye, Abiodun Tolani and Oyegunle, Bimpe and Séri, Benjamin and Duvignaud, Alexandre and Katembo Vihundira, Jackson and Malvy, Denis and Bérerd-Camara, Marion and Adedosu, Nelson Akinola and Gbenga, Ayeni Olufunke and Ahmed, Liasu Adeagbo and Ayodeji, Oladele Oluwafemi and Jaspard, Marie},
title = {Post-discharge sequelae of Lassa fever survivors in Nigeria: an analysis of the LASCOPE prospective cohort.},
journal = {The Lancet. Infectious diseases},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1016/S1473-3099(26)00057-5},
note = {PubMed: 41825454},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/guichard-2026-post-discharge},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/guichard-2026-post-discharge
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