Question of the day: Are vaccines contaminated with XMRV and related retroviruses? After all, XMRV has found its way into common lab reagents and contaminated the 22Rv1 prostate-cancer cell line, among others. To quote the Wellcome Trust, a British foundation, “One in fifty human cell lines they examined were infected with XMRV-related viruses.” And to quote British researcher Mark Robinson, XMRV is “ubiquitous” in laboratory specimens. Shouldn’t researchers then be testing vaccines as another possible vector for XMRV?
Since XMRV is the third infectious human retrovirus, it would be prudent to ensure that the vaccines aren’t contaminated. In addition to blood transfusions, vaccinations are another potential way to spread the XMRV retrovirus. Vaccine safety is as important as blood safety.
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They should. What they don't know is if their assay is sensitive enough to detect virus in the earlier generations of that cell line. The ones that were not treated with testosterone, which would increase the level of the virus.
ReplyDelete"You and I must make a pact
ReplyDeleteWe must bring salvation back
Where there is love
I'll be there."
Lyrics from the movie, "Willard"
The heart-warming story of a boy and his mouse who goes psycho
Vocals by Michael Jackson
How's that for obscure cultural literacy?
All the best,
Kent Heckenlively
Quote from Jonathan Stoye
ReplyDelete"It is the latter group of agents, known as the endogenous retroviruses, that are believed to pose the greatest threat of infectious disease to xenotransplantation. (...) Most of the elements, apparently including all those present in human beings, seem defective, but some, including proviruses present in mice, cats, and chickens, will give rise to infectious retroviruses. These viruses can, but need not, cause “spontaneous” neoplasms in their host species."
('No clear answers on safety of pigs as tissue donor source', THE LANCET • Vol 352 • August 29, 1998)
just found your blog...thanks for your dedication to unraveling the cause of an ever destructive disease.
ReplyDeletepardon my question here, but I didn't find a place to ask a question, which is: is CFS/ME the same disease as fibromyalgia? if not, why not?
thank you.
A kidney transplant patient was recently infected with HIV from a donor...
ReplyDeleteHow good is their testing for viruses and retroviruses, if this can happen in this day and age? Did they even DO the testing, or did they just believe the patient who donated, when that person said, "No, I don't have any illnesses that could be related to viruses or retroviruses."
Reminds me of the Red Cross asking, "Do you feel well today?"
Simply absurd; simply tragic.
They should be testing! My illness started with a very dramatic reaction to a flu shot. Two minutes after the shot, my limbs went numb, I nearly passed out, and my blood pressure dropped. A couple hours later I was strangely exhausted...a feeling that was to become very familiar.
ReplyDeleteAnd like kathryn above, I know someone personally who developed ME/CFS after a blood transfusion. She had a range of medical problems that were all going to be solved by surgery, and they were...until she came down with ME/CFS shortly afterward.
-Jocelyn
I got fibro in the UK in 84, of course misdiagnosed until 2003, got dx w/ CFS in 97. I believe that those who claim ME is fibro & CFS both are likely correct.
ReplyDeleteI notice some ME/CFS patients have things like NMH, POTS, sudden spells of shortness of breath just like some of the AIDS patients I cared for AND like some of the scleroderma patients & lupus patients I've cared for/known. So..
WHY CAN'T ANYONE FIGURE OUT THAT 6 STRAINS OF XMRV CAN MEAN THAT ME CAN SHOW UP IN ANY PART OF THE BODY JUST LIKE LUPUS OR SCLERODERMA OR ANY NO. OF OTHER AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS?