Komaroff, A L · Journal of virological methods · 1988 · DOI
This review examines whether ME/CFS (a condition causing severe, long-lasting tiredness) is connected to chronic viral infections, particularly herpes-type viruses. The authors found that ME/CFS often starts suddenly like the flu and is associated with symptoms like fever, sore throat, and muscle pain. While blood tests sometimes show signs of viral infection, particularly Epstein-Barr virus and human herpesvirus-6, the study could not prove that these viruses actually cause ME/CFS.
This early synthesis of viral associations in ME/CFS helped establish the foundation for decades of research investigating infectious triggers in the disease. Understanding potential viral connections remains important because it may inform treatment strategies and help explain why some patients report flu-like illness preceding symptom onset.
This review does not prove that any herpesvirus causes ME/CFS—it only documents that associations exist. The study cannot determine whether viral infection triggers the disease, perpetuates it, or is merely coincidental. No causality can be established from serologic association alone.
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
Komaroff, A L (1988). Chronic fatigue syndromes: relationship to chronic viral infections.. Journal of virological methods. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-0934(88)90047-x
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-komaroff-1988-chronic-fatigue,
author = {Komaroff, A L},
title = {Chronic fatigue syndromes: relationship to chronic viral infections.},
journal = {Journal of virological methods},
year = {1988},
doi = {10.1016/0166-0934(88)90047-x},
note = {PubMed: 2846619},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/komaroff-1988-chronic-fatigue},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/komaroff-1988-chronic-fatigue
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