New research suggests that most cases of chronic fatigue syndrome may be linked to a virus known as XMRV. The study, by Dr Judy Mikovits and her colleagues at the Whittemore Peterson Institute in Nevada, found that XMRV was present in two-thirds of patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as ME, or myalgic encephalomyelitis). This news received a rapturous welcome from the millions of people across the globe suffering from a syndrome that continues to provoke fierce controversy among medical experts. Many refuse to acknowledge it even exists, dismissing it and similar illnesses as “yuppie flu”.