Secchiero, P, Carrigan, D R, Asano, Y et al. · The Journal of infectious diseases · 1995 · DOI
Researchers developed a sensitive test to detect human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) DNA in blood. They tested blood samples from children with a specific rash illness, bone marrow transplant patients, HIV-infected patients, people with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and healthy adults. The test found HHV-6 DNA most often in children with the rash illness, less commonly in transplant and HIV patients, rarely in ME/CFS patients, and not at all in healthy people.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS research because it provides one of the earliest systematic attempts to detect active HHV-6 infection in ME/CFS patients using molecular methods. The very low detection rate (2.6%) in ME/CFS patients compared to primary infection controls helps establish baseline data on HHV-6 prevalence in this population and informs subsequent investigations into whether HHV-6 plays a significant role in ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that HHV-6 causes or contributes to ME/CFS, as the low detection rate in ME/CFS patients (1/39) actually suggests HHV-6 is not commonly active during the illness. The cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal relationships or determine whether any detected virus is causative versus coincidental. The study also does not distinguish between latent infection and active replication or clarify the clinical significance of positive results.
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
Secchiero, P, Carrigan, D R, Asano, Y, Benedetti, L, Crowley, R W, Komaroff, A L, et al. (1995). Detection of human herpesvirus 6 in plasma of children with primary infection and immunosuppressed patients by polymerase chain reaction.. The Journal of infectious diseases. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/171.2.273
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-secchiero-1995-detection-human,
author = {Secchiero, P and Carrigan, D R and Asano, Y and Benedetti, L and Crowley, R W and Komaroff, A L and Gallo, R C and Lusso, P},
title = {Detection of human herpesvirus 6 in plasma of children with primary infection and immunosuppressed patients by polymerase chain reaction.},
journal = {The Journal of infectious diseases},
year = {1995},
doi = {10.1093/infdis/171.2.273},
note = {PubMed: 7844362},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/secchiero-1995-detection-human},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/secchiero-1995-detection-human
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