Blomberg, Jonas, Sheikholvaezin, Ali, Elfaitouri, Amal et al. · Advances in virology · 2011 · DOI
This study examined whether certain viruses similar to mouse leukemia virus (XMRV and related viruses) might be found in people with ME/CFS and prostate cancer. The researchers reviewed what is known about these virus-like sequences across different animal species and discussed why it's been difficult to confirm whether humans are actually infected with these viruses. They highlighted that contamination from mouse DNA in lab samples can create false positive results, making it challenging to determine if these viruses genuinely cause disease in humans.
Understanding whether XMRV and related viruses actually infect humans is crucial for ME/CFS research, as viral triggers have been proposed as a potential disease mechanism. This study helps explain why previous findings have been inconsistent and proposes a framework for conducting more rigorous investigations. It also raises important quality control and methodological standards that future viral studies must meet.
This study does not prove that XMRV or HMRV actually infect humans or cause ME/CFS—it is a theoretical and methodological analysis rather than new evidence of infection. It does not establish causation or definitively rule out human infection; rather, it identifies why detecting these viruses reliably is so difficult. The paper does not provide experimental data discriminating true infection from contamination in patient samples.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Blomberg, Jonas, Sheikholvaezin, Ali, Elfaitouri, Amal, Blomberg, Fredrik, Sjösten, Anna, Mattson Ulfstedt, Johan, et al. (2011). Phylogeny-directed search for murine leukemia virus-like retroviruses in vertebrate genomes and in patients suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and prostate cancer.. Advances in virology. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/341294
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-blomberg-2011-phylogeny-directed,
author = {Blomberg, Jonas and Sheikholvaezin, Ali and Elfaitouri, Amal and Blomberg, Fredrik and Sjösten, Anna and Mattson Ulfstedt, Johan and Pipkorn, Rüdiger and Källander, Clas and Ohrmalm, Christina and Sperber, Göran},
title = {Phylogeny-directed search for murine leukemia virus-like retroviruses in vertebrate genomes and in patients suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and prostate cancer.},
journal = {Advances in virology},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1155/2011/341294},
note = {PubMed: 22315600},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/blomberg-2011-phylogeny-directed},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/blomberg-2011-phylogeny-directed
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