Marsh, S, Kaplan, M, Asano, Y et al. · Journal of virological methods · 1996 · DOI
Researchers developed a new laboratory test to detect HHV-6, a common virus, in blood and body fluids. This test is faster, cheaper, and easier to use than older methods, and works reliably in clinical settings. They tested it on samples from healthy people, children with fever rashes, and patients with various conditions including chronic fatigue syndrome.
Since HHV-6 has been investigated as a potential cofactor in ME/CFS pathogenesis, reliable and accessible detection methods are essential for both research studies and clinical assessment. This practical assay could facilitate larger-scale studies examining HHV-6's role in ME/CFS and enable clinicians to screen for HHV-6 infection more readily.
This methods paper does not establish whether HHV-6 causes or contributes to ME/CFS, nor does it demonstrate that HHV-6 positivity is associated with disease severity or symptoms. The study provides detection methodology only; clinical significance of HHV-6 antigen presence in CFS patients requires separate epidemiological and mechanistic studies.
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
Marsh, S, Kaplan, M, Asano, Y, Hoekzema, D, Komaroff, A L, Whitman, J E, et al. (1996). Development and application of HHV-6 antigen capture assay for the detection of HHV-6 infections.. Journal of virological methods. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-0934(96)02075-7
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-marsh-1996-development-application,
author = {Marsh, S and Kaplan, M and Asano, Y and Hoekzema, D and Komaroff, A L and Whitman, J E and Ablashi, D V},
title = {Development and application of HHV-6 antigen capture assay for the detection of HHV-6 infections.},
journal = {Journal of virological methods},
year = {1996},
doi = {10.1016/0166-0934(96)02075-7},
note = {PubMed: 8882943},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/marsh-1996-development-application},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/marsh-1996-development-application
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