XMRV ponderings

[Guest guest]

After the announcement of the XMRV findings and how it might be transmitted, the

thought occurred to me, why did it not infect the same group of high risk

individuals that were infected by HIV? As a retrovirus, the exchange of bodily

fluids and contaminated blood products are the most likely means of

transmission.

Than it ocurred to me, they were. But nobody knew it, and any symptoms they had

were attributed to HIV. Than along comes the advent of the antivirals, and HAART

that drove HIV to undectable levels, and possibly unknowingly, drove XMRV the

same way.

It would very interesting to test early blood samples from the beginning of the

AIDS epidemic for signs of XMRV.

Chances are you all way ahead of me on this line of thinking, but I am curious

of any thoughts.

Lynn

[Moderator: Virus vectors (how they are transmitted) vary greatly.

" Retroviruses are infectiously transmitted from one host to another by

horizontal spread and by vertical transmission from mother to offspring,

Retroviral genomes can also be transmitted non infectiously as Mendelian

provirus integrated in the germ line of the host... Indeed all the main modes of

infections, bar aerosols, are recorded for one retrovirus or another,... "

See Infectious disease in the aging: a clinical handbook By T. Yoshikawa,

Dean C. Norman; Humana Press; 1st edition (April 15, 2000) on Google Books]