McLaughlin, B · Canada diseases weekly report = Rapport hebdomadaire des maladies au Canada · 1991
This 1991 study examined how laboratory tests using virology (the study of viruses) could help diagnose ME/CFS. The research looked at whether finding certain viruses in patients' blood or other samples could confirm whether someone has ME/CFS. This was an important early step in trying to understand if viruses play a role in this illness.
Establishing reliable diagnostic methods is crucial for ME/CFS patients who often struggle for years to get a diagnosis. Early investigations into viral causes helped frame questions about ME/CFS etiology that researchers continue exploring today, and demonstrated the need for improved laboratory diagnostic tools.
This study does not prove that any specific virus causes ME/CFS, nor does it establish that virology testing alone can definitively diagnose the condition. As an observational review rather than a controlled trial, it cannot determine cause-and-effect relationships between viral infections and ME/CFS development.
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
McLaughlin, B (1991). Virology laboratory diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome.. Canada diseases weekly report = Rapport hebdomadaire des maladies au Canada. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1669355/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-mclaughlin-1991-virology-laboratory,
author = {McLaughlin, B},
title = {Virology laboratory diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Canada diseases weekly report = Rapport hebdomadaire des maladies au Canada},
year = {1991},
note = {PubMed: 1669355},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mclaughlin-1991-virology-laboratory},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mclaughlin-1991-virology-laboratory
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