According to the latest opinions and reports by the Bellingham Herald, XMRV may not be sexually transmissable.
Considering it’s a retrovirus, that’s good.
However, recently there were fears that XMRV could be passed on in the blood supply and people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) & ME were asked not to donate blood.
AABB, a blood bank trade association, last year identified 68 pathogens that could potentially threaten the blood supply.
But Michael Busch, director of the Blood Systems Research Institute, of San Francisco, said the newer pathogens that worry blood safety experts, such as dengue fever, SARS and the XMRV retrovirus ‘have not been sexually transmissable’.
If what Mr. Busch says is so, that’s great news. But what about the suggested ban on people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or ME not giving blood that still seems to be in place? Either our blood is dangerous to others or it’s not. Either CFS or ME as illnesses can be sexually transmitted to our sexual partners or they cannot.
(I realize that these can turn out to be two separate transmissability issues, but what if they are not mutually exclusive. As is the case with many sexually transmitted illnesses, the ultimate danger lies in the ‘enemy virus’ getting into the blood stream during sexual intercourse and infecting the whole body. This is true for Hepatitis B and C.)
The authorities that monitor our blood supply need to figure this out, make up their collective mind(s) and stick to one policy. Not a one of us would want to accidentally give this disease to someone we loved and injure them forever because we sexually transmitted XMRV! And we certainly do not want to endanger the blood supply.
Come on now. Answers please?
Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show
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Heidi Bauer 01.25.11 at 11:49 am
The link is not working or the page moved. So, I cannot comment on that specifically, however, I think the typical assumptions are wrong regarding XMRV transmission and sex. Many claim that since they do not see CFS type disease spreading rapidly through the gay community or prostitutes that this is good enough reason to suspend belief in XMRV as transmissible through sexual contact. I find this wrong for two reasons. First, it is very clear that RVs can infect without causing immediate disease. HTLV can take many years to cause cancer and neuro problems. X+ cancer patients (lymphomas/prostate) could have carried the virus for years before it created disease. Men whose wives have had CFS for decades are asymptomatic until they develop prostate cancer. So, there is certainly a lag time for some X-related diseases. Secondly, viral load has much to do with transmission for the other two RVs. It may take repeated exposure to an infected person (such as a spouse or long term partner) before transmission can occur. As other patients, I also believe repeated exposure at work or in the home through casual contact is possible depending on viral load.
Until a reliable assay can be mass produced (which they are working on frantically they say), we will not know the extent of XMRV transmission. It is quite clear that being infected does not promote disease, or at least not right away.
Cinda Crawford 01.25.11 at 12:02 pm
Heidi, so sorry the Bellingham Herald moved or removed their article. That happens with newspapers sometimes. But I am reading & hearing your comment with great interest. Since the collective “we” don’t really know what is going on with XMRV, it is too preliminary to say whether there is transmission going on definitively or not… but, like you, I suspect there are factors being transmitted that are affecting people’s health. “We” should realize there is more we don’t know than what we do! That is certainly an argument “for” ME/CFS’s existence and necessity to learn more about it AND to continue ongoing investigations into it, no matter where the trail may lead. Government powers may not like the answers to these questions because 1) they will end up with egg on their collective face(s), 2) they will have to figure out what to do about the blood supply, 3) they will have to come up with preventative measures for transmission and 4) they will have to figure out how to combat the illnesses (whatever they are). Now many of us who have been so sick expect their to be a dramatic connection to ME/CFS. Time will tell…if we can keep them going down the right road and being open & honest in the process. Being an ostrich won’t get us anywhere except blinking back the sand. Best wishes, Cinda (And thanks again for commenting!)
Ash 01.25.11 at 12:38 pm
Recently there was a small study published which showed that over 90% of “chronic Lyme” patients who failed to improve following antibiotic treatment were positive for XMRV. The theory being put forward was that the ticks who infected the patient with Lyme could prove to be the “source” of the XMRV infection. Given how quickly Lyme has spread amongst ticks nationwide, that puts everyone at risk.
As a CFS patient diagnosed & treated with iv rocephin for a year, only to “fail” the treatment, I’m actually hoping my XMRV test comes back positive – going to go get the blood drawn today. At least it would open up additional treatment options.
Ash
CFS 11+ years
Cinda Crawford 01.25.11 at 3:30 pm
Ash, what interesting info. Anything is possible. Some of these things will surely be proven true and, therefore, quite a lot of help to a lot of people. I don’t blame you for being tested. I probably would do it, too. I checked out your blog and love it! Adding a link on my website
Cinda
PS- I would appreciate you mentioning the Health Matters Show. For sure, lots of people have to be reading your wonderful writing!
PPS- I never physically tested positive for Lyme, but energetically I did. When I underwent the specialized, energetic healing, it cleared all of that (Lyme) up, too. An absolutely astounding amount of pain went away over night. (eye brows raised…yeah… .)