Introduction: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a complex disorder with a common set of core symptoms and with many secondary symptoms. Underlying chronic infection has been advocated as a contributing factor to CFS, yet its role and the extent of its impact are unconfirmed.

Method: Blood samples were obtained from eighty-eight CFS patients and twenty nine controls. Evidence of infection by certain tick-borne and respiratory pathogens was tested for through the use of nested PCR, western blot, ELISA and IFA.

Results: Of CFS participants, 19% had evidence of exposure to 3 out of 4 pathogen species compared to 3% of controls (p = 0.04). For tick-borne (TB) pathogens, 56% of CFS participants had exposure to at least one, compared to 14% of controls (p < 0.001).

Discussion: The high prevalence of exposure to multiple pathogens within the test group suggests a relationship between CFS and infective agents. As hypothesised in previous studies, the results of this study could contribute towards the argument that chronic infections, as a result of contributing to immune dysregulation, may lead to fatiguing symptoms. More specific forms of investigation using methods that directly measure pathogen levels should be undertaken.

Do certain microbiological pathogens cause or have a role in the aetiology of the disease entity known as chronic fatigue syndrome? By Thomas Kelly in Sydney Digital Theses (Open Access) 14 Apr 2014