Komaroff, Anthony L · Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology · 2006 · DOI
This study reviews evidence about whether a virus called human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) might cause ME/CFS. Researchers found that active HHV-6 infection appears more frequently in ME/CFS patients than in healthy people, and the virus may be connected to some of the nervous system and immune system problems seen in ME/CFS. However, not all ME/CFS patients test positive for active HHV-6, suggesting it may only trigger the illness in some people.
Understanding potential viral triggers for ME/CFS is crucial for developing targeted treatments and explaining the biological basis of the disease. If HHV-6 is indeed involved in some ME/CFS cases, this could eventually lead to antiviral therapies or diagnostic tests to identify the subset of patients most likely to benefit from such treatments.
This review does not prove that HHV-6 causes ME/CFS, only that an association exists in some patients. The study cannot establish causation versus correlation, nor does it explain why some ME/CFS patients do not have active HHV-6 infection. It does not provide clinical evidence that treating HHV-6 improves ME/CFS outcomes.
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, Anthony L (2006). Is human herpesvirus-6 a trigger for chronic fatigue syndrome?. Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1386-6532(06)70010-5
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-komaroff-2006-human-herpesvirus,
author = {Komaroff, Anthony L},
title = {Is human herpesvirus-6 a trigger for chronic fatigue syndrome?},
journal = {Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1016/S1386-6532(06)70010-5},
note = {PubMed: 17276367},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/komaroff-2006-human-herpesvirus},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/komaroff-2006-human-herpesvirus
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