Jones, J F · Reviews of infectious diseases · 1991 · DOI
This review examined whether ME/CFS is connected to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the virus that causes mono. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS had higher levels of antibodies to EBV compared to healthy people, but this doesn't prove the virus causes the disease. They also found that immune cells called natural killer cells—which help fight infections—work differently in ME/CFS patients, though the findings varied between studies.
This work is important because it synthesized early evidence about immune abnormalities in ME/CFS and identified EBV as a potential biological marker worthy of further investigation. For patients, establishing objective biological markers could help with diagnosis and legitimacy of the condition. The identification of natural killer cell dysfunction as a consistent abnormality has shaped decades of subsequent immunological research in ME/CFS.
This review does not prove that EBV causes ME/CFS; elevated antibodies could reflect either chronic infection, reactivation, or an unrelated immune abnormality. The variable findings across studies mean no single immune marker has been definitively established as diagnostic. Correlation between EBV serology and ME/CFS does not establish mechanistic causation.
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
Jones, J F (1991). Serologic and immunologic responses in chronic fatigue syndrome with emphasis on the Epstein-Barr virus.. Reviews of infectious diseases. https://doi.org/10.1093/clinids/13.supplement_1.s26
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-jones-1991-serologic-immunologic,
author = {Jones, J F},
title = {Serologic and immunologic responses in chronic fatigue syndrome with emphasis on the Epstein-Barr virus.},
journal = {Reviews of infectious diseases},
year = {1991},
doi = {10.1093/clinids/13.supplement_1.s26},
note = {PubMed: 1850541},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jones-1991-serologic-immunologic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jones-1991-serologic-immunologic
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.