Is RA27/3 rubella immunization a cause of chronic fatigue?
Patients with chronic fatigue syndromes (primary fibrositis syndrome, major affective disorder, etc.) have elevated IgG serum antibodies to multiple common viruses. Only IgG rubella antibodies are positively correlated with the intensity of symptoms and have a height that is clearly significant compared to healthy controls. The lymphotropic properties of the rubella virus could account for the multiple elevated antibodies. Adult women are over-represented in the population of patients with chronic fatigue, and are especially susceptible to developing such symptoms following exposure to attenuated rubella virus. A new more potent strain of live rubella vaccine (strain RA27/3) was introduced in 1979. Within three years reports of patients with chronic fatigue began surfacing in the literature. Considering all this, the possible role of rubella immunization in the etiology of chronic fatigue syndromes deserves further study.
