Persistent infection hypothesis

The persistent infection hypothesis or persistent viral infection theory is the hypothesis that myalgic encephalomyelitis is triggered and/or maintained by one or more persistent viruses or infections. This is in contrast to the "hit and run" hypothesis, which is that the infection triggers a disease process that continues long after the immune system has eradicated the initial infection.

Notable studies

 * 1992, Epstein-Barr Virus-Related Persistent Erythema Multiforme in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - (Abstract)
 * 1993, Persistence of enterovirus RNA in muscle biopsy samples suggests that some cases of chronic fatigue syndrome result from a previous, inflammatory viral myopathy - (Abstract)
 * 1999, Persistence of enteroviral RNA in chronic fatigue syndrome is associated with the abnormal production of equal amounts of positive and negative strands of enteroviral RNA - (Full text)
 * 2010, Acute enterovirus infection followed by myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and viral persistence - (Full text)
 * 2012, Can persistent Epstein-Barr virus infection induce chronic fatigue syndrome as a Pavlov reflex of the immune response? - (Full text)
 * 2016, Type I and Type II Interferon Coordinately Regulate Suppressive Dendritic Cell Fate and Function during Viral Persistence - (Full text)
 * 2018, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in the era of the human microbiome: persistent pathogens drive chronic symptoms by interfering with host metabolism, gene expression and immunity - (Full text)