Science / Medicine : Virus Absolved in ‘Yuppie Flu’

Researchers reported new evidence last week exonerating a virus blamed for causing the so-called “yuppie flu” but deepening the mystery surrounding the syndrome that causes debilitating fatigue. Dr. Stephen Straus and his colleagues at the National Institutes of Health found an anti-viral drug that attacks the suspected culprit, Epstein-Barr virus, did not help people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome.

“These findings suggest that active replication of Epstein-Barr virus is not a primary determinant of the signs and symptoms of the chronic fatigue syndrome,” the researchers said in reporting their findings in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease in which victims experience severe long-term lethargy. It has been called “yuppie flu” because many victims are young active professionals who become severely debilitated.

The Epstein-Barr virus, which is also known as EBV, had been the suspected cause of the disease because many victims had signs of being infected with the virus, which is in the same family as the herpes viruses.