Obraitis, Dominic, Li, Dawei · Current opinion in virology · 2024 · DOI
This review examines whether viruses trigger myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Scientists have found that some ME/CFS cases may start after viral infections, and blood tests can detect viral genetic material in patients. The review highlights that while viruses are a suspected cause, no single virus has been found in all ME/CFS patients, and researchers need better tools to understand these complex viral patterns.
Understanding viral triggers is crucial for ME/CFS patients because it could lead to earlier diagnosis, targeted treatments, and prevention strategies. The surge of long COVID cases has brought renewed scientific attention to ME/CFS mechanisms, offering patients hope for breakthrough discoveries. Better tools for analyzing viruses in blood may help identify which patients developed ME/CFS from viral infections versus other causes.
This review does not prove that any specific virus causes ME/CFS, nor does it establish causation rather than mere correlation between viral detection and disease. The review cannot determine why some people develop ME/CFS after infection while others recover normally, or whether viral persistence is pathogenic or incidental.
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 →
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Primary citation
Obraitis, Dominic & Li, Dawei (2024). Blood virome research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: challenges and opportunities.. Current opinion in virology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coviro.2024.101437
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-obraitis-2024-blood-virome,
author = {Obraitis, Dominic and Li, Dawei},
title = {Blood virome research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: challenges and opportunities.},
journal = {Current opinion in virology},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1016/j.coviro.2024.101437},
note = {PubMed: 39537445},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/obraitis-2024-blood-virome},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/obraitis-2024-blood-virome
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