How does CFS relate to the Epstein-Barr virus?
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the cause of mononucleosis, and a well-publicized study in 1985 suggested that there may be a strong correlation to CFS. But many doctors have not read the later research that has minimized what at first seemed to be a strong link. The original apparent correlation was described in: Straus SE, Tosato G, Armstrong G, Lawley T, et al. Persisting illness and fatigue in adults with evidence of Epstein-Barr infection. Ann Intern Med 1985; 102:7-16. Later studies showed that many CFS patients have had no exposure to EBV at all. This clarification has been shown in: Buchwald D, Sullivan JL, Komaroff AL. Frequency of “chronic active Epstein-Barr” virus infection in a general medical practise. JAMA 1987; 257:2303-7. Holmes GP, Kaplan JE, Stewart JA, et al. A cluster of patients with a chronic mononucleosis-like syndrome. JAMA 1987; 257:2297-302. EBV, and other viruses, may ultimately be found to play some role in CFS in many patients. But based on the studies cit
