Jones, James F, Kulkarni, Prasad S, Butera, Salvatore T et al. · BMC infectious diseases · 2005 · DOI
This study investigated whether a virus called GB virus-C (GBV-C) might be a cause of ME/CFS. Researchers tested blood samples from CFS patients and healthy controls for signs of current or past GBV-C infection. They found no significant difference between the two groups, leading them to conclude that GBV-C is unlikely to be responsible for causing ME/CFS.
Many ME/CFS patients and researchers have sought infectious explanations for the illness, making studies that systematically evaluate viral candidates important for directing future research. This negative finding helps exclude GBV-C as a primary etiologic agent, allowing the field to focus resources on other potential infectious or non-infectious mechanisms.
This study does not prove that viruses play no role in ME/CFS generally—it only demonstrates that GBV-C is not likely a major cause. The small sample size limits statistical power, so a true association might have been missed. Additionally, the study cannot rule out GBV-C's involvement in a subset of patients or its possible role as a cofactor rather than a primary cause.
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, James F, Kulkarni, Prasad S, Butera, Salvatore T, & Reeves, William C (2005). GB virus-C--a virus without a disease: we cannot give it chronic fatigue syndrome.. BMC infectious diseases. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-5-78
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-jones-2005-virus-virus,
author = {Jones, James F and Kulkarni, Prasad S and Butera, Salvatore T and Reeves, William C},
title = {GB virus-C--a virus without a disease: we cannot give it chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {BMC infectious diseases},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1186/1471-2334-5-78},
note = {PubMed: 16191201},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jones-2005-virus-virus},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jones-2005-virus-virus
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