Jeziorski, Eric, Foulongne, Vincent, Ludwig, Catherine et al. · Retrovirology · 2010 · DOI
Researchers tested whether a virus called XMRV might be causing various childhood illnesses and respiratory diseases. They checked samples from 151 children and adults with different conditions, but found no evidence that XMRV was present in any of them. This suggests that XMRV is likely not responsible for these particular diseases.
When XMRV was initially reported in ME/CFS cohorts, there was concern it might represent a broadly pathogenic retrovirus. This negative study in other disease groups helps clarify that XMRV is not a ubiquitous agent in idiopathic illnesses, which has relevance for understanding whether XMRV's potential role in ME/CFS (if any) reflects disease-specific mechanisms.
This study does not prove XMRV is absent from ME/CFS or other diseases in other populations—it only demonstrates absence in this particular French pediatric cohort with specific disease phenotypes. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causation or rule out XMRV involvement in conditions not tested here. Negative PCR results do not exclude latent or integrated viral sequences below detection threshold.
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
Jeziorski, Eric, Foulongne, Vincent, Ludwig, Catherine, Louhaem, Djamel, Chiocchia, Gilles, Segondy, Michel, et al. (2010). No evidence for XMRV association in pediatric idiopathic diseases in France.. Retrovirology. https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-4690-7-63
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-jeziorski-2010-evidence-xmrv,
author = {Jeziorski, Eric and Foulongne, Vincent and Ludwig, Catherine and Louhaem, Djamel and Chiocchia, Gilles and Segondy, Michel and Rodière, Michel and Sitbon, Marc and Courgnaud, Valérie},
title = {No evidence for XMRV association in pediatric idiopathic diseases in France.},
journal = {Retrovirology},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1186/1742-4690-7-63},
note = {PubMed: 20678193},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jeziorski-2010-evidence-xmrv},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jeziorski-2010-evidence-xmrv
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