Navaneetharaja, Navena, Griffiths, Verity, Wileman, Tom et al. · Journal of clinical medicine · 2016 · DOI
This review examines whether infections—particularly viruses in the gut—might trigger ME/CFS. The authors suggest that an imbalance in the gut's microbial and viral communities could be a key factor in developing the disease. They propose that understanding these gut infections could help identify better treatments and ways to prevent ME/CFS.
This review shifts focus toward the gut microbiota and virome as potential disease drivers in ME/CFS, offering a testable mechanism that could explain immune dysfunction and guide development of microbiota-targeted therapeutics. Identifying the 'infectious trigger' could provide diagnostic biomarkers urgently needed for ME/CFS research and clinical management.
This review does not establish causation—it synthesizes existing evidence to propose a hypothesis rather than proving that microbiota or virome changes directly cause ME/CFS. The proposal remains conceptual and requires prospective, mechanistic studies to confirm whether dysbiosis precedes disease onset or develops as a consequence of illness.
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
Navaneetharaja, Navena, Griffiths, Verity, Wileman, Tom, & Carding, Simon R (2016). A Role for the Intestinal Microbiota and Virome in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)?. Journal of clinical medicine. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm5060055
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-navaneetharaja-2016-role-intestinal,
author = {Navaneetharaja, Navena and Griffiths, Verity and Wileman, Tom and Carding, Simon R},
title = {A Role for the Intestinal Microbiota and Virome in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)?},
journal = {Journal of clinical medicine},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.3390/jcm5060055},
note = {PubMed: 27275835},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/navaneetharaja-2016-role-intestinal},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/navaneetharaja-2016-role-intestinal
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.