Stomach Virus a Culprit in Chronic Fatigu...( People were busy looking in the bloo...),Health

"People were busy looking in the bloodstream, but he looked in the gut. He looked in the right compartment and, lo and behold, he found the viruses," she said. "It depends where you look, what you see."

Chia believes that enteroviruses may cause half of cases of CFS. The disease can also be triggered by other infections.

"It makes sense to me as an infectious disease. This makes all the sense in the world," he said. "If this is a virus, it doesn't destroy the cells, it hides inside the cells. It's one smart little virus."

Chia's son has recovered from the disease although, the elder Chia reported, "he spent a lot of time in the laboratory. Without him, I would not have done this."

More information

For more on chronic fatigue syndrome, visit the CFIDS Association of America.

SOURCES: John Chia, M.D., infectious disease physician, Torrance, Calif.; Nancy Klimas, M.D., professor, medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and director, Gulf War Illness Center, VA Medical Center; Sept. 13, 2007, Journal of Clinical Pathology online