The entity called chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) simply refers to a loose grouping of certain symptoms that are part of a much wider spectrum of the clinical manifestations of viral induced organic brain damage. Many patients presenting with CFS related symptoms are persistently infected with atypically structured "stealth-adapted" viruses. These viruses cause metabolic damage to cells and produce a characteristic vacuolating cytopathic effect in specialized virus cultures. An inhibitor of these viruses has been identified and provisionally termed Epione. Given the systemic nature of the infection, a preferable term for the underlying illness is multi-system stealth virus infection. The added qualification "with encephalopathy" is useful to distinguish patients exhibiting symptoms primarily due to brain pathology. The term CFS should be discarded.