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Whether chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has an infectious etiology remains a question of intense interest. In late 2009, researchers presented evidence of active infection with xenotropic murine leukemia virus–related virus (XMRV) in patients with CFS (JW Infect Dis Oct 21 2009); four subsequent studies failed to show this association. A new study now supports the original findings.
The researchers studied blood samples from 37 CFS patients, collected in the mid-1990s, and from 44 healthy controls. Using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, the investigators detected murine leukemia virus (MLV)-related gag gene sequences in peripheral blood mononuclear cell–derived DNA samples from 32 of 37 CFS patients (87%) compared with 3 of 44 h…