Kubo, K, Fujiyoshi, T, Yokoyama, M M et al. · Clinical and diagnostic laboratory immunology · 1997 · DOI
Researchers tested whether two viruses—Borna disease virus (BDV) and HTLV-1—might be linked to psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and depression in Japanese patients. After testing blood samples from 346 patients with psychiatric conditions and 70 healthy people, they found almost no evidence that either virus was associated with these mental health conditions.
Some researchers have hypothesized viral infections, including BDV, might contribute to ME/CFS and comorbid psychiatric symptoms. This negative study helps clarify that BDV is not a major factor in psychiatric presentation in at least one population, informing the search for true infectious or inflammatory drivers of ME/CFS-related mood and cognitive symptoms.
This study does not prove that viral infections play no role in ME/CFS or psychiatric conditions generally—it only addresses BDV and HTLV-1 in a Japanese population and does not examine other candidate pathogens. The study also does not exclude the possibility that past or resolved viral infections, rather than active infection, might contribute to disease.
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
Kubo, K, Fujiyoshi, T, Yokoyama, M M, Kamei, K, Richt, J A, Kitze, B, et al. (1997). Lack of association of Borna disease virus and human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 infections with psychiatric disorders among Japanese patients.. Clinical and diagnostic laboratory immunology. https://doi.org/10.1128/cdli.4.2.189-194.1997
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-kubo-1997-lack-association,
author = {Kubo, K and Fujiyoshi, T and Yokoyama, M M and Kamei, K and Richt, J A and Kitze, B and Herzog, S and Takigawa, M and Sonoda, S},
title = {Lack of association of Borna disease virus and human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 infections with psychiatric disorders among Japanese patients.},
journal = {Clinical and diagnostic laboratory immunology},
year = {1997},
doi = {10.1128/cdli.4.2.189-194.1997},
note = {PubMed: 9067654},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kubo-1997-lack-association},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kubo-1997-lack-association
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