Vojdani, Aristo, Almulla, Abbas F, Zhou, Bo et al. · Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2024 · DOI
This study found that long COVID patients have higher levels of antibodies (immune proteins) against reactivated dormant viruses, particularly herpesvirus type 6, along with signs of ongoing inflammation and immune activation. The researchers identified a pattern of immune markers that correctly identified long COVID patients about 81% of the time, and similar patterns were linked to depression, anxiety, and fatigue symptoms. These findings suggest that viral reactivation combined with abnormal immune responses may drive long COVID and its associated mood and fatigue symptoms.
This study provides potential biological markers that could help explain the mechanism of long COVID and its neuropsychiatric features, bridging the gap between infection and persistent symptoms. For ME/CFS patients, identifying HHV-6 reactivation and autoimmune responses offers testable hypotheses for why some patients develop chronic fatigue and mood disorders, potentially opening avenues for targeted immune or antiviral interventions.
This study does not prove that HHV-6 reactivation or activin-A antibodies *cause* long COVID—it only shows associations in a snapshot in time. Cross-sectional design cannot establish whether immune marker elevations precede symptom onset, persist longitudinally, or change with treatment. The study also does not demonstrate whether these markers are specific to long COVID or overlap with other post-viral conditions.
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
Vojdani, Aristo, Almulla, Abbas F, Zhou, Bo, Al-Hakeim, Hussein K, & Maes, Michael (2024). Reactivation of herpesvirus type 6 and IgA/IgM-mediated responses to activin-A underpin long COVID, including affective symptoms and chronic fatigue syndrome.. Acta neuropsychiatrica. https://doi.org/10.1017/neu.2024.10
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-vojdani-2024-reactivation-herpesvirus,
author = {Vojdani, Aristo and Almulla, Abbas F and Zhou, Bo and Al-Hakeim, Hussein K and Maes, Michael},
title = {Reactivation of herpesvirus type 6 and IgA/IgM-mediated responses to activin-A underpin long COVID, including affective symptoms and chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Acta neuropsychiatrica},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1017/neu.2024.10},
note = {PubMed: 38571295},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/vojdani-2024-reactivation-herpesvirus},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/vojdani-2024-reactivation-herpesvirus
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