Pantry, Shara N, Medveczky, Maria M, Arbuckle, Jesse H et al. · Journal of medical virology · 2013 · DOI
Some people inherit a virus called HHV-6 that becomes integrated into their DNA from birth. This study found that a small group of patients with this inherited virus also had active infections from a related but separate HHV-6 strain, and these patients experienced neurological symptoms including long-term fatigue. When treated with antiviral medications, the active viral infection was suppressed, suggesting the medication could help control symptoms.
This research identifies a potential viral mechanism contributing to neurological symptoms and persistent fatigue in a subset of patients. The finding that some individuals carry inherited HHV-6 while also being infected with an active exogenous strain, and that antivirals can suppress replication, suggests a possible biomarker and treatment target relevant to ME/CFS research. Understanding the relationship between persistent viral infections and long-term fatigue could advance diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
This study does not prove that HHV-6 causes ME/CFS or that antiviral treatment will benefit all ME/CFS patients. The small sample size (four treated cases) and case-control design cannot establish causation or the prevalence of this condition in the broader ME/CFS population. Correlation between CIHHV-6, exogenous infection, and fatigue does not demonstrate that the virus is the primary driver of 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
Pantry, Shara N, Medveczky, Maria M, Arbuckle, Jesse H, Luka, Janos, Montoya, Jose G, Hu, Jianhong, et al. (2013). Persistent human herpesvirus-6 infection in patients with an inherited form of the virus.. Journal of medical virology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.23685
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-pantry-2013-persistent-human,
author = {Pantry, Shara N and Medveczky, Maria M and Arbuckle, Jesse H and Luka, Janos and Montoya, Jose G and Hu, Jianhong and Renne, Rolf and Peterson, Daniel and Pritchett, Joshua C and Ablashi, Dharam V and Medveczky, Peter G},
title = {Persistent human herpesvirus-6 infection in patients with an inherited form of the virus.},
journal = {Journal of medical virology},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1002/jmv.23685},
note = {PubMed: 23893753},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pantry-2013-persistent-human},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pantry-2013-persistent-human
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