The cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown.

MS'ers are cautioned against  getting flu shots because you are likely to get sick -- autoimmune diseases are unforgiving.  Because my MS is progressive, any attack can cause new symptoms that i get to live with, like vision loss.

I copied some statements about ms to give you an idea of how confusing it can be when experts can't agree:

An autoimmune disease is a condition in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your body. ... In an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakes part of your body, like your joints or skin, as foreign. It releases proteins called autoantibodies that attack healthy cells.Mar 21, 2019  

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The cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown. 

It's considered an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. 

In the case of MS , this immune system malfunction destroys the fatty substance that coats and protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord (myelin).Apr 19, 2019

Controversies in Neurology
October 2004
Multiple Sclerosis Is Not an Autoimmune Disease

Disease is very old and nothing about it has changed. It is we who change as we learn to recognize what was formerly imperceptible.—J. M. Charcot

The cause of multiple sclerosis (MS) and its pathogenesis are unknown, but 

2 main theories have emerged: 

a viral cause and 

an autoimmune cause. 

In the past half century, however, research and therapy have been driven by the autoimmune hypothesis. 

We propose that MS is not an autoimmune disease but a genetically determined disorder characterized by metabolically dependent neurodegeneration.